Madar (Nouakchott) - Justice Minister Mohamed Ould Soueidatt on Thursday, 5 November 2026, met in Nouakchott with the president (bâtonnier) of the National Bar Association, Mohamed Lemine Ould Ameur, and members of its executive board, then with members of the executive board of the Judges' Club, in two separate meetings, according to the Mauritanian News Agency (AMI).
Meeting the lawyers, the minister said "the various concerns and proposals" raised by the association "will be taken into account" under the sector's vision based on the National Document for the Reform and Development of Justice, describing the association as a "strategic partner" in upholding the rule of law and the proper functioning of justice.
Ould Soueidatt urged the association to stay engaged in the reform process and to put forward practical proposals to inform the ministry's programmes and future plans.
Bar president Ould Ameur, for his part, outlined a number of professional concerns and issues facing lawyers, as well as the association's hopes for closer cooperation and coordination with the ministry to strengthen the legal profession's role in judicial work, according to AMI, which did not detail those concerns.
In a second meeting at the ministry, the minister met members of the Judges' Club executive board, led by its secretary-general, Judge Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ould Jiddou. They discussed judicial matters and ways to strengthen cooperation and coordination between the ministry and the club, the agency said.
The minister stressed the importance of "continued consultation and openness to all components of the judicial family" and of working "as one team" to build mutual trust and support the reform process, under the National Document for the Reform of Justice.
The meeting with the Judges' Club follows months of tension: in early February 2026, the club accused Ould Soueidatt in a statement of "undermining the independence of the judiciary" through the General Inspectorate, and called for the inspectorate to be removed from the justice minister's authority and placed under the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, as well as for a swift revision of the judges' statute.
Ould Ameur took office as head of the National Bar Association in August 2026, succeeding Bouna El Hassen, at a ceremony overseen by the justice minister at the Nouakchott courthouse.
