THE COURT THATIS HEARING THE DREYFUS CASE.

Evening Post, Volume LVI, Issue 157, 31 December 1898, Page 2

THE CO UR T THA TIS HEARING THE DREYFUS CASE.

The French Cour de Cassation was (writes the London .correspondent of al contemporary) instituted by the law of December, 1790, and has never undergone any serious changes. It is the consequence and guarantee of the unity of the country's legislation. Its aim is to keep the tribunals to the strict observance of the forms of the law, and to maintain between them uniformity of jurisprudence, t The court is divided into three sections — for petitions or requetes, civil and criminal affairs. The Bar elects the members, the latter the First President, and each section its own President. T*he number of judges, called councillors, is 48, or 16 for each Chamber, and the quorum is fixed at 11. The First President receives 30,000 francs annually as salary, the others 25,000 francs, and the councillors 18,000 francs each. Altogether the court costs 1,053,000 francs per annum. It sits in Paris, in the Palace of the Tribunal, and occupies the once Chamber of the Parliament of Paris. A petition to the Court- of Cassation is lodged with the first Chamber, along Avith other documents. ' If the formalities have been complied with, a report is made on the caSe ; the Procureur signs his approval, the counsel on both sides are summoned to plead, and the judges decide, lue court in no case examines the subject of any law suit. Having pronounced its decision, the matter is considered to be terminated ; if the decision be against the appeal of the petitioner, the sentence of the court below comes into operation. But a petitioner cannot always apply to tne Court of Cassation when the criminal chamber rejects his suit. For a second appeal the three chambers solemnly meet collectively to decide. Their rejection is next to definite, as the only recourse then is to appeal to the clemency of the Chief of the State. If the Government be defeated it can submit the matter to the Council of the State,' and ultimately bring in a bill interpreting the law as they view it, and which the Legislature would be asked to vote. The demand of the Government for the revision of the Dreyfus trial has been lodged with the first Chamber, along with all the documents — called the dossier — of the charges. When controlled and reported upon, the Procurator will make known his decision. If favourable, Dreyfus will be brought back to France to be retried. Although it is mainly occupied with questions of form and procedure, the Court of Cassation (writes Mr. Carlyle Smythe in the Argus) is something much more comprehensive than what English people understand by a Court of Appeal. .Owing 'to tho powers conferred upon it by the law of 1889 the Court of Cassation has the right of summoning any witnesses, ordering any seizure of documents, proceeding to any supplementary enquiry ; in brief, of taking any step that it may deem essential to the manifestation oi truth and the administration of justice.' Only' Cabinet Ministers are exempt from its jurisdiction, and only once since the inception of the third Republic has occasion arisen to constitute a court of higher jurisdiction. In April, 1889, M. Tirard, President of the Council, constituted the Senate a High Court of Justice for the trial of General Boulanger.