Justice minister launches training for judges and police ahead of new penal codes

Judges, prosecutors, lawyers, court clerks and police officers are to be trained on the new Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure before the texts take effect on January 1, 2027. According to HaitiLibre, Justice Minister Patrick Pélissier opened the national program on Tuesday, November 3, at the Kayah-Belah Hotel.

What the minister said

Pélissier argued that the country has to break with the limits of its former penal framework and put human dignity at the center of justice. He said the effective date calls for methodical preparation by everyone involved, and that legal professionals must fully understand what the new codes change. He presented the reform as part of an effort to modernize penal legislation, parts of which are almost two centuries old.

The commission's view

Sabine Boucher, President of the Commission for the Implementation of the New Codes, also took part. She said the initiative is about more than passing on knowledge. In her words as reported, it seeks to change professional practices, improve coordination between magistrates, public prosecutors and the National Police, and encourage a culture of legality, accountability and protection of fundamental rights. The commission designs the program and coordinates its teaching.

How the training is organized

The first phase runs from November 3 to 20, 2026, in the Southern Department. The program has six sessions in all, continuing until December 11, 2026. Its target is to train 40% of first-instance magistrates and 40% of police investigators.

Work began at two sites at the same time. Twenty magistrates, from both the bench and the public prosecutor's office, took part at one. The other was the National Police Academy in Frères, where the high command of the Haitian National Police was present.

The instructors completed a training cycle at the French National School for the Judiciary (École Nationale de la Magistrature, ENM). Two of the drafters of the new codes, Jean Joseph Exumé and René Magloire, will also teach. From January 2027, the program is to be extended step by step to magistrates at every level of jurisdiction and to other actors in the judicial system.