The highest court, reviewing the application of law rather than retrying facts, in the French tradition. Because the Conseil Constitutionnel envisaged by the 1987 Constitution was never created, the Cour de cassation carries constitutional questions as well. Its functioning has been severely constrained: judicial vacancies went unfilled for extended periods, and court operations in Port-au-Prince have been repeatedly suspended by insecurity.
How the court is constituted
- Tier
- supreme
- Court type
- Court of cassation
- Jurisdiction
- Cassation review of judgments of the courts of appeal, and constitutional questions arising in cases before it given that the Conseil Constitutionnel was never established.
- Seat
- Port-au-Prince
- Established
- 1817
- Composition
- A President, Vice-President and judges sitting in sections; the plenary sits for the most significant matters.
- Appointment
- Judges are nominated by the Senate from lists and appointed by the President, with the Conseil supérieur du pouvoir judiciaire certifying suitability — a process disrupted by the absence of a functioning legislature.
- Languages
- French, Haitian Creole
Where an appeal goes next
None; cassation is the final stage.
Filing at this court
- Pourvoi en cassation
- Filed at the registry within the period set by the Code de procédure civile
- Practical note
- Confirm current sitting arrangements — hearings have been suspended or relocated because of insecurity
Found something out of date on Cour de cassation?
Corrections are reviewed against the primary source before anything changes.