Ouanaminthe, now separated from the jurisdiction of Fort-Liberté and endowed with its own jurisdiction, is unable to serve its litigants. The Court of First Instance has been non-operational since its creation by decree in September 2024 and its inauguration in 2025. To date, only the chief judge (doyen) of the court has been appointed by the executive authorities, with no sitting judges or investigating judges designated.

The situation is hardly different in the Limbé jurisdiction, which has a chief judge, an investigating judge, and a sitting judge. This remains an insufficient staff, laments the president of the Professional Association of Magistrates (APM), Marthel Jean-Claude. The magistrate finds it unacceptable to appoint only one investigating judge within a jurisdiction. “If the investigating judge has family ties with the litigant, who will take over? At a minimum, there should be two judges,” he recommends.