Samuel Madistin
Port-au-Prince, January 17, 2026.- The decree issued by the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT) on the organization and functioning of the High Court of Justice is a subject of considerable controversy. Invited this Saturday, 17 January on Radio Magik 9, the lawyer and human rights defender, Mr Samuel Madistin sees it as a disguised attempt of self-amnesty aimed at protecting the members of the transitional power as it approaches the deadline of 7 February 2026.
According to Samuel Madistin, the decree, published in Le Moniteur on December 23, is presented as an instrument to combat impunity, but it has the opposite effect. By making prosecutions against high-ranking officials subject to the intervention of a non-existent Senate, the text excludes ordinary courts and makes it virtually impossible to take legal action related to corruption or mismanagement during the transition.
The lawyer considers that the CPT seriously exceeds its constitutional prerogatives. « Amnesty is the sole responsibility of Parliament. The executive cannot erase offences or suspend prosecution », he said, calling the decree unconstitutional and illegal. It also stresses that this initiative violates Haiti's international commitments, in particular the UN Convention against Corruption, which requires the effective prosecution of public officials without distinction of rank.
Mr Madistin warns against the diplomatic and financial consequences of such a text, evoking the risk of international isolation and a ranking of Haiti on the FATF blacklist. It calls on the judicial institutions, the ULCC and the UCREF to refuse to apply this decree, which it considers to be a mere administrative act without the force of law, and urges the next government to repeal it in order to restore the conditions of genuine accountability.
W.A.
