If our authorities, past and present, have a specialty, it is surely that of making commitments without bothering to keep them. This transition — from Ariel Henry to the CPT — is full of examples. Should we recall the countless promises to fight gangs, to create the conditions for holding the constitutional referendum and elections in order to provide the country with legitimate authorities? After more than four years of transition, we are back to square one, to the point that one wonders what will come after February 7, 2026. While some advocate for a new transition, the CPT and the government continue to renew their promise to organize elections. Except that we are about five months away from the end of the Transitional Presidential Council’s mandate.

Before February 7, 2026, there will be December 24, 2025, the date of entry into force of the new Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. The decision was taken by the executive last June. An implementation commission composed of well-known figures from the judicial system was created. It is this commission that, in an open letter, reminded the country’s highest authorities of the December 24 deadline. The commission emphasized the need to train the actors of the judicial system on these two documents, which aim not only to modernize Haitian criminal law by aligning it with international and regional standards, but also to strengthen the prevention and repression of new forms of criminality such as human trafficking, corruption, transnational crime, terrorism, among others. They should also guarantee the rights of litigants through the establishment of fairer, faster, and more transparent procedures. Are these not noble objectives?