- Created at the end of 2013 following the Cahuzac affair, the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life is consulted by the Presidents of the Republic before each ministerial reshuffle.
- The HATVP receives and examines declarations of assets and interests from 15,000 public officials, and publishes those of members of the government on the Internet.
- She notably made talk of going during the Thévenoud and Delevoye cases.
It was born in the law on the transparency of public life of October 11, 2013, on the ashes of the Cahuzac affair. She identified the "administrative phobia" of the short-lived Secretary of State Thomas Thévenoud in September 2014. Then she spoke again about her last December during the "oversights" of Jean-Paul Delevoye, the Mr. Government Retreat , in his declaration of interests.
The High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP) has established itself as a key player in French policy and plays an essential role in each ministerial reshuffle.
Who is she ?
With around fifty employees, the HATVP receives asset and interest declarations from 15,000 public officials. It can also be referred to by two approved anti-corruption associations - Anticor and Transparency International - in "cases of breach of probity, situation of conflict of interest, non-compliance with reporting obligations or rules "revolving door", according to its website.
"What is interesting is that it is an independent administrative authority," emphasizes Michel Lascombe, professor of public law and specialist in constitutional law. It will continue to see its possibilities for action increase. It does not have the "pans" of the National Financial Prosecutor's Office. "
Press release #presse - The college of @HATVP partly renewed and completed
▶ ️https: //t.co/nC216zntQC pic.twitter.com/d0X1wYiljq
A college of 13 people, mainly magistrates, is at its head, directed since last January by Didier Migaud, ex-first president of the Court of Auditors.
An essential tool for the President of the Republic
In May 2017, Emmanuel Macron, newly elected to the Elysée Palace, had postponed the announcement of the first government for his quinquennium by 24 hours. The executive wanted to give itself "time to verify" the tax situations and possible conflicts of interest of the suitors and claimants in Morocco. "There is no obligation for the President of the Republic to consult the High Authority," says Michel Lascombe, a former teacher at Sciences Po Lille now retired. But it does so systematically, after the Cahuzac cases and especially Thévenoud. "
The latter, who failed to pay his taxes, but also his rents and fines, had left his post nine days after his appointment, which is still a mess. "The President seizes the High Authority, which itself seizes the taxman, describes the specialist. At first, it remains rather superficial, it must go quickly. But that eliminates part of the possible problems and that does not prevent us from continuing to make checks. "
The hunt for conflicts of interest
"First, it is a question of seeing if the taxes are well paid and declared, if there is no business in progress," continues Michel Lascombe. The declarations of interests and assets come in a second step. The ministers have two months to file their declarations, then the High Authority has three months to verify them and publish them on the Internet. "
🔎 # Transparency #viepublique - The declarations of public officials put online this week> https://t.co/h7iTKSvg5K pic.twitter.com/4DzbEGSaxP
- HATVP (@HATVP) July 3, 2020It will therefore be necessary to wait five good months to consult all the data of the new government of Jean Castex, its leader at the head. Still unrecognized a week ago, the Prime Minister arrives largely first of the requests on the site of the HATVP. But the nearly 10,200 internet users who were interested in it will have to wait: they could only see the declaration of interests filed on January 14 last by the then only mayor of Prades and president of the community of communes Conflent-Canigó (Pyrénées-Orientales).
A function for which the declaration of assets is not available on the Web unlike, therefore, members of the government, who must also send another when their mission ends. History to determine if there was no questionable personal enrichment during their ministerial period.
A real change
For Michel Lascombe, the HATVP has brought real benefits "in public life, in general". “This forces a whole series of people to declare assets and interests. This had an effect on conflicts of interest. As when Jean-Paul Delevoye was "pinched" for having "forgotten" to specify to the High Authority his links with the world of insurance, while he is the High Commissioner for Pensions. Longer and more subdued, the case of the editor and then Minister of Culture Françoise Nyssen had also made an impression in 2018.
"There are relatively strong sanctions," says the specialist in public and constitutional law. In addition to the risks of ineligibility, the justice system can take over the files of the HATVP. According to Michel Lascombe, the greatest room for improvement is found in local communities.
“A certain number of elected officials, notably local, have not yet fully understood the concept of conflicts of interest. And, while many local authorities have adopted internal regulations and have decided to publish the list of “gifts” that companies can give, elected officials who benefit from them do not understand this. However, a meal, even at 15 euros, can shock, especially if it is offered every day. "
Disconnection with the "ordinary citizen" would therefore not only come from the upper echelons.
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