DRC: president Tshisekedi creates financial and economic criminal court

Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi signed a decree-law on Saturday to create a brand-new specialised court to deal with economic and financial crimes such as corruption and money laundering.

Signed on Saturday by Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi, a decree-law established a specialised criminal court to deal with a variety of offences, including corruption, currency counterfeiting, fraud and embezzlement of public funds.

The court's creation aims to strenghten the Democratic Republic of Congo's judicial system in the fight against financial and economic crimes, which are numerous in the country.

Previously, cases of irregularities or suspected crimes that financial authorities forwarded to the judicial system often met dead ends, as magistrates lacked the expertise to deal with such cases.

The tribunal will consist of a primary jurisdiction court and an appeals chamber.

At least forty judges will likely be needed to work across the two chambers. The question of qualified candidates remains, as the selected magistrates will need to have expertise in this specific field, as well as prove their strong sense of integrity.

By law, the new structure will have to be operational within three mjonths of the decree-law's entering into force.