GUINEAN SUPREME COURT BUSY WITH LAND DISPUTES

C O N F I D E N T I A L CONAKRY 001336

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM GV
SUBJECT: GUINEAN SUPREME COURT BUSY WITH LAND DISPUTES


Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Shannon Cazeau for
Reason 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The Ambassador met with Lamine Sidime,
President of Guinea,s Supreme Court, on December 13 for his
initial courtesy call. The meeting was friendly, but formal,
and did not delve into key substantive issues. Sidime said
that the Supreme Court currently spends over 80 percent of
its time on land dispute issues. In addition, he claimed
that the judiciary operates independently and is not subject
to external political influence. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) In the Ambassador,s initial courtesy call on the
Supreme Court, Lamine Sidibe was friendly but reserved.
Although the Ambassador attempted to draw Sidibe into a more
substantive discussion, the meeting ended up feeling like a
simple checking of the box,, according to the terms of
standard diplomatic protocol.

--------------
BIO NOTES
--------------


3. (SBU) This is Lamine Sidibe,s second stint as president
of the Supreme Court (appointed in 2003),having been
previously appointed to that position when the Court was
first established in 1992. As such, Sidibe has managed the
Court for a total of nine out of the 15 years of its
existence. Sidibe also served as prime minister of Guinea
from 1999 to 2004. He was born in Mamou in 1944 and studied
law in Senegal and France. Sidime taught law at the
University of Algiers and the University of Dakar before
returning to Guinea in 1989 as a professor of law at the
University of Conakry. Later, Sidime was a member of the
executive bureau of the legislative body that preceded the
National Assembly during the transition from a military
government to a constitutional system. In 1992, after his
first appointment to the Supreme Court, Sidime participated
in a USG sponsored International Visitor,s Program in the
U.S. Ethnically, Sidime is Malinke.

--------------
CASELOAD DOMINATED BY LAND DISPUTES
--------------


4. (SBU) Sidibe commented extensively on the Supreme
Court,s current caseload, which is dominated by land
disputes. Sidibe said that in the past, such cases
represented about 40 percent of the caseload, but now
represent more than 80 percent. In response to the
Ambassador,s question about other cases such as divorce,
Sidibe said that such matters are traditionally decided by
the family and rarely show up in the court system.

--------------
NO INTERFERENCE HERE
--------------


5. (SBU) The Ambassador also asked about the independence of
the judiciary and whether the Supreme Court receives any
pressure from other government elements over judicial
decisions. Sidibe assured the Ambassador that the Supreme
Court has always been independent and has never been subject
to external political influence, at least during his
administration. Sidibe added that occasionally there are
instances of friendly pressure, where friends may ask
judicial officials to intervene on their behalf, but that
this happens on a personal level and does not actually
influence court decisions.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


6. (C) On both a personal and a policy level, the meeting
was essentially dissatisfying. Sidime clearly understood his
role and smoothly delivered practiced responses to questions
he has probably fielded many times in the past. He did not
appear to be someone the Embassy can expect to work with
closely in the future in order to advance Mission objectives.
One of the remaining bastions of Guinea,s old guard, Sidime
is a long-time supporter of President Conte and owes his
extensive political career to that relationship. His
responses to questions about executive interference are
contrary to common perceptions of judicial operations and the
endemic corruption that undermines the entire legal system.
The fact that the Supreme Court is spending the majority of
its time on land dispute cases suggests that this is a
growing issue in Guinea. The prominence of land disputes in
the eyes of the judiciary may offer further opportunities for
corruption and illustrates the lack of judicial attention to
key problems including corruption and human rights abuses.
END COMMENT.
CARTER