Case: Case 80018/12

Descriptors: Principle of equality / Independence and Impartiality of the Court / Intervention of the President of the Republic as a civil party / Relationship between Powers

The President of the French Republic intervenes as a civil party in a criminal proceeding, in which the defendants have falsified documentation and defrauded both Mr. Sarkozy and various members of his family. The participation of the Head of State in the judicial process constitutes, for the appellant, a violation of the principle of impartiality and independence of the Court, since the President of the Republic is the one who appoints the judges, in addition to the condition of inviolability that he holds during the exercise of his mandate would break with the principle of equality.

The aforementioned allegations will be repeatedly rejected by the different French jurisdictional bodies, since the Constitution allows the President of the Republic his participation and access as a party to the Courts, and the Judicial Power cannot alter the scheme of separation and relationship between powers that the Constitutional text recognizes.

The European Court of Human Rights recognizes that the intervention of Mr. Sarkozy would not have caused an inequality, nor would it have led to the defenselessness of the convicted person, who was able to use all the relevant means of defense, his conviction being based on evidence and testimonies collected during the process (paragraphs 65-68). Regarding the impartiality and independence of the Courts, although the Court recognizes that apparently the intervention of the President could raise doubts in relation to them, there is not evidence of this would have been the case.

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