PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy faced accusations on Saturday of trying to subvert the authority of France's top constitutional body over a law to incarcerate dangerous criminals indefinitely.
The controversy arose after the Constitutional Council setrestrictions on a law passed by parliament earlier this monthto keep violent offenders in jail after their sentences expireif they were still deemed to pose a public menace.
On Friday, Sarkozy directed France's top magistrate to lookat ways of implementing the law, despite the council's ruling,prompting accusations that he was trying to challenge theauthority of a body that has final say over whether legislationis constitutional or not.
"If the president wants to get past a decision of thecouncil, there is one clear way: ask parliament to change theconstitution," Robert Badinter, a former justice minister andpresident of the Constitutional Council said in Le Monde.
The law, which applies to violent offenders servingsentences of at least 15 years, was approved in principle bythe council but it said offenders currently serving or who weresentenced before the law was passed should not be affected.
The council's decision, which followed a challenge to thelaw by the opposition Socialists, means it will only affectcriminals who receive their sentence once the law goes intoeffect.
The Constitutional Council is France's final authority onconstitutional issues and its rulings are binding ongovernment.
Sarkozy denied that his request was an attempt to getaround the Constitutional Council's authority but said hebelieved he needed to ensure the public was protected.
"This is the question I want us to have a debate about," hetold reporters. "What is important for me is that we don't letmonsters free after they have served their sentences."
Sarkozy, who made his name as a hardliner on law and orderas interior minister, has redefined the presidency since comingto power last year, taking a much more active role inday-to-day government than his predecessors.
He has pledged wide-ranging reform of the French state buthas been accused by critics of claiming overreaching powers.
Magistrates representatives called his request for a secondopinion an unprecedented assault on the authority of theConstitutional Council, the ultimate arbiter of whetherproposed legislation conforms with the constitution.
"It is a stupefying decision, unique in the history of theFifth Republic," Laurent Bedouet, secretary general of the USMmagistrates' union told Reuters.
"A President of the Republic has never asked the presidentof the Court of Appeal how to get around a decision of theConstitutional Council," he said. (Reporting by Emmanuel Jarry;Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)
