French constitutional council

The Court of Cassation decided to ask the Constitutional Council in France to consider the terms of the application of defence secrecy in judicial investigations into the case of Karachi, at the request of the families of the victim of the attack which occurred in this Pakistani city in 2002. The victims'' families confirmed in their request that several articles in the law deprive them of their right to a fair trial and violates the principle of separation of powers, adding that the defence secrecy hampers investigations conducted by judges. The court of cassation agreed yesterday to refer the case concerning the constitutional side to the Constitutional Council. Investigations are still under way in the case of the attack that killed 15 people, including 11 French nationals working in the marine industries department in Karachi in southern Pakistan in May 2002.