Implementation of judicial centres

Implementation of judicial centres specialising in the prosecution of economic and financial offences and organised crime: this involves the creation of an implementation plan by the end of 2019, in collaboration with the ASCE-LC and actors of the judicial system.

Completion Status:

Partially fulfilled

Commitment filtering:

Specific: ✔ yes

In 2017, Burkina Faso adopted a law for the creation, organisation and operation of judicial centres specialised in the prosecution of economic and financial offences and organised crime.[1] The commitment is specific because it focuses on the implementation of the law beyond the 2018 IACC, and identifies a specific policy area in the prosecution of economic and financial offences and organised crime.

[1] Superior Council of the Judiciary Burkina Faso, Law No. 005-2017/AN of 19 January 2017 on the Creation, Organisation and Functioning of Judicial Centres Specialised in the Repression of Economic and Financial Offences and Organised Crime, 19 January 2017, https://csm.bf/?wpdmpro=loi-n005-2017-portant-creation-organisation-et-fonctionnement-des-poles-judiciaires-specialises-dans-la-repression-des-infractions-economiques-et-financieres-et-de-la-criminalite-organisee

Measurable: ✔ yes

This commitment identifies two clear, measurable actions:

The creation, by the end of 2019, of an implementation plan for judicial centres specialising in the prosecution of economic and financial offences and organised crime.
Implementation of the plan to create the judicial centres.

Public Integrity

Burkina Faso

Last updated: 29 September 2022

Evaluation:

Background Information

In 2017, Parliament passed a law on the creation, organisation and operation of judicial centres specialised in the prosecution of economic and financial offences, and organised crime.[1]

Monitoring

The commitment can be separated into two sub-commitments:

Define the implementation plan for judicial centres specialising in the prosecution of economic and financial offences and organised crime by the end of 2019.

There is no public information available as to whether the implementation plan was developed by ASCE-LC and the government. According to the CSO REN-LAC, there is no implementation plan for the judicial centres, but 90 per cent of them are now operational and are prosecuting cases of economic crime.[2]

Establishment of the judicial centres based on the implementation plan.

In 2020, the government established the judicial centres[3] housed within the High Courts of Ouaga I and Bobo-Dioulasso to prosecute economic and financial offences, and organised crime. Around 40 magistrates and clerks from these centres receive ongoing training in techniques for investigating and sentencing economic and financial crime.[4]

However, this commitment is only partially fulfilled, because there is no public information available on the implementation plan. We requested further information on the plan from the Ministry of Justice, but received no response before this report’s publication.

Challenges to effective commitment implementation

A possible challenge could be a lack of coordination between ASCE-LC and the judicial system about which institutions should have designed the implementation plan. For example, during the research, ASCE-LC’s Head of the Department of National Strategy for the Prevention of Corruption could not provide this implementation plan. ASCE-LC suggested seeking more information from the Ministry of Justice. The fact that we received no response from the ministry might be linked to staff changes resulting from the military coup.

Opportunities to accelerate commitment implementation

According to ASCE-LC, there is effective collaboration with the judiciary to accelerate this commitment. ASCE-LC has two magistrates covering investigations and the follow-up of legal actions, ensuring a strong operational link with the judicial system. It also has expertise in how the judicial system operates,[5] which it should use to establish the judicial centres in all the country’s high courts.

Recommendations

1. Provide more resources and training to all staff dealing with economic and financial crime cases.

2. Provide more training programmes to magistrates working in the judicial centres, to increase speed and efficiency in processing cases of economic and financial crime.

[2] Programme Manager, Réseau National de Lutte Anti-Corruption (REN-LAC), April 14 2022, Interview via WhatsApp.

[3] Le Faso.net, Specialized judicial poles: Insights from the director of criminal policy,10 February 2016, https://lefaso.net/spip.php?article69579

[4] Ministry of Justice of Burkina Faso, Fight against economic and financial crime: the magistrates and clerks of the TGI Ouaga I and Bobo strengthen their capacities, 25 August 2020, http://www.justice.gov.bf/index.php/2020/08/25/lutte-contre-la-criminalite-economique-et-financiere-et-la-criminalite-organisee-les-magistrats-et-greffiers-des-tgi-ouaga-i-et-bobo-renforcent-leurs-capacites/

[5] Drabo Mamoudou, Head of Department, National Strategy for the Prevention of Corruption, ASCE-LC, 10 May 2022, via email.