Abstract:

Over the last few years, the Republic of Benin has been sliding down democratic rankings. International observers highlight, amongst other things, the severity of the most recent criminal law reforms – leading to the steady growth of the prison population for the last five years. Reports also point to the biased nature of judicial institutions and increased lack of trust from the Beninese population. Created in 2018, the special court for the repression of economic crimes and terrorism has been frequently pointed out as a ‘political court’ responsible for the heavy sentencing of political opponents. Based on ethnographic fieldwork with legal professionals involved in this jurisdiction, this presentation goes beyond ‘political cases’ to delve into judges and lawyers’ daily work at the special court. How are legal professionals appointed? How do they deal with ‘ordinary cases’? What kind of instructions do they receive, and how do they reconcile them with their professional commitment to the rule of law? Building on interviews with legal professionals, and observation during hearings and inside judges and prosecutors’ offices, I analyze how the professional ethos and self-perception of special court judges impacts the daily work/functioning of the judiciary. I contend that special court judges see themselves as part of the repressive arm of the state, tasked with enforcing criminal policies – and in turn, with disciplining citizens. They frequently search for legal dispositions allowing them to distribute harsh prison sentences – often going beyond prosecutorial requests or opt for detention while awaiting trial as unless they are convinced of litigants’ innocence. Combining insights from sociolegal studies and from the anthropology of the state, this presentation nuances international reports of corruption and political infringement on the judiciary – and shows, instead, how judges (and prosecutors) internalized (and act upon) recent political discourses and policy agendas. It also shows how the ‘judicialization of politics’ does not only happen in higher courts and exceptional political moments, but also in the daily works of lower-level courts, which though their decision, effectively create or influence policies ‘from below’.

When judges make policy: Exceptional criminal courts in Benin