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Justice Watchdog Details Failures in Pelicot DNA Handling, Stops Short of Finding Judicial Dysfunction

The inspectorate highlights mail-processing lapses that left a 2010 DNA alert unused and spurs a move to secure, traceable document transmissions.

Overview

  • An IGJ report finds multiple procedural shortcomings in the Pelicot files but says a judicial dysfunction cannot be established with certainty.
  • A 2010 SNPS DNA match linking Dominique Pelicot to traces from a 1999 attempted rape was sent by ordinary mail to Meaux and went unexploited until 2022.
  • Investigators note the Meaux office was being reorganized in 2010, with poor traceability and occasional loss of mail, and the report was addressed to a magistrate who had already left the jurisdiction.
  • The IGJ says it cannot prove the Meaux tribunal received the letter, preventing a definitive finding of institutional fault despite its likely arrival.
  • Justice Ministry spokesperson Sacha Straub-Kahn acknowledges the possibility of human error and says secure, traceable digital transmissions will be generalized from February 2026.