Francophonie and justice : International Organization of La Francophonie contribution to the construction of the rule of law. ; Francophonie et justice : contribution de l'organisation internationale de la francophonie à la construction de l'état de droit

Abstract

Justice is a fundamental attribute of modern States. In a democratic society, itguarantees the safeguard of the standard-setting framework as well as the protection ofrights. An independent and effective justice is a symbol of the rule of law. It illustrates theseparation of powers and establishes the primacy of law. But the efficiency of any judicialsystem depends on the nature and the extent of the resources at its disposal. Yet, inmany Francophone countries, the judicial system faces many weaknesses, sometimesrelated to the avatars of democratic stabilisation processes, sometimes to more fragilepost-crisis situations. So the question of the capacity development of the judicialinstitutions arises. For thirty years, the International Organization of La Francophonie(OIF) has entered the legal and judicial cooperation field on this basis. By including thepromotion of democracy at the heart of its political action, the OIF has indeed made strongcommitments and developed programs aimed at accompanying its member States in thecapacity development of their justice systems, thanks to its institutional networks. Thiscommitment can be seen in several statements of the Organization. It demonstrates thewill of the Francophone States to anchor their relationships in a cooperation framework,dedicated to the protection of fundamental rights and the regulation of majorities' powers.Today, justice is consequently established as a priority in Francophone concerns. It isentered in both national and international level and in its transitional dimension ; La justice est un attribut fondamental de l'Etat moderne. Elle assure, dans unesociété démocratique, la sauvegarde de l'édifice normatif ainsi que la protection des droitset libertés. Une justice indépendante et efficace est un symbole de l'Etat de droit. Ellerévèle la réalité de la séparation des pouvoirs et consacre le règne du droit. Maisl'efficacité de tout appareil judiciaire dépend de la nature et de l'ampleur des moyens dontil dispose. Or, dans nombre d'Etats francophones, ...