Opinion polls are unanimous: the justice system does not meet all the expectations of citizens in the Alpes-Maritimes. The establishment of a true local justice system in Nice appears to be one of the ways to bridge the gap between the French and their judiciary.
Unnecessary geographical distances and excessive delays, due to an overwhelming volume of cases, make the cases handled by the Court of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence entirely incompatible with a good administration of justice.
Furthermore, residents of the Alpes-Maritimes, located at the fringes of the appellate jurisdiction, bear costs and procedural delays far above the national average. It is widely accepted by all that the courts in Grasse and Nice provide two-thirds of the cases handled by the Court of Appeal in Aix-en-Provence.
In November 2002, Dominique Perben, Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, encouraged the CANCA to undertake a collaborative approach to create an appellate court in the Alpes-Maritimes. More than a creation, it would be a return since the appellate court established in Nice in 1614 was taken away by France from the people of Nice in 1860. Napoleon III had promised its return within 10 years.
In 2006, Nice has been hoping for its return for nearly 150 years!
The CANCA, CASA, CARF, CAPAP, and the bar associations of Nice and Grasse have worked together on this project. From their endeavors, the absolute necessity for our region to establish an appellate court emerges. Several sites in our department would be ready to host this much-awaited court.
Today more than ever, the creation of an appellate court is a legitimate demand and a requirement of the inhabitants for a quality public justice service.
The CCA includes associations from Nice (Sian d’Aqui and Nissart Per Toujou), the Young Economic Chambers (Antibes Sophia Antipolis, Cannes Mandelieu Le Cannet, Menton Roquebrune Cap Martin, Nice Cรดte d’Azur, Pays Niรงois), and legal professions (UJA, Bar Associations of Nice and Grasse).
Nice Premiรจre met with two of the initiators of this approach to learn more about this project that everyone hopes will become a reality.
So, we turn to the president of the JCE Nice, Karine Boeuf-Etesse, and the president of Sian d’Aqui, Fabrice Mauro, who give us the reasons for the return of a Court of Appeal in our region.
