The Decree adopted by the Council of Ministers on the report of Minister of Justice Rockfeller Vincent, appointing the members of the Board of Directors of the National Council of Legal Assistance (CANAL) has been published in the official journal Le Moniteur.

This Decree ensures the effectiveness of the Law of September 10, 2018 on legal assistance, which provides for a Council responsible in particular for ensuring that Legal Assistance is provided to people in an economically and financially precarious situation.

Member of the CNAL Board :

President : Me Rockefeller Vincent (Minister of Justice and Public Security);

Vice-president : Me Renan Hédouville (Citizen Protector);

Members :

Patrick Michel Boisvert (Minister of the Economy and Finance);

Me Jacques Letang (President of the Federation of Haitian Bars);

Me André Saint-Isère (Representative of the Superior Council of the Judiciary).

The Federation of Bars of Haiti (FBH) qualifies these appointments as a victory for the Federation which denounced for months the intention of circumvention of the law on Legal Assistance, by the Executive Power which tried to place the new Bureau of Legal Assistance (BAL) under the direct control of the Ministry of Justice, in violation of the provisions of the Law.

The FBH had officially opposed this maneuver, denouncing the risks it posed for the independence of lawyers and the mission of Legal Assistance. It is pleased to have succeeded in defending the principles, by forcing the authorities to respect the path traced by the law.

HL/ HaitiLibre