The enforcement of court decisions is a weak point in many judicial systems. In Senegal, to address this shortcoming, the Dakar Public Prosecutor's Office established the Bureau of Sentence Enforcement (BEX). In this interview, Babacar Beye, Deputy Prosecutor at the Dakar High Court and coordinator of this innovative structure, reviews a year of operation. From debt recovery and the fight against impunity to the modernization of the criminal justice system, he reveals the inner workings of a service that restores the full enforceability of criminal sanctions.

Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?

My name is Babacar Beye, I have been Deputy Prosecutor at the High Court of Dakar since August 2023 and coordinator of the Bureau of Sentence Execution, better known as BEX, since its creation in January 2025.

You have been appointed coordinator of the Sentence Enforcement Office of the Dakar Prosecutor's Office for a year now. Could you tell us about this office, in particular its mission, its responsibilities, and its usefulness to the Senegalese judicial system?

The Sentence Enforcement Office (BEX) of the Dakar Public Prosecutor's Office is a specialized service established to ensure the effective, rapid, and systematic execution of decisions rendered by criminal courts. Its primary mission is to ensure that sentences handed down do not remain mere declarations of guilt, but produce concrete effects in the judicial and social spheres.

In this capacity, the BEX is responsible, in particular, for monitoring the enforcement of custodial and restrictive sentences, the collection of fines and costs, the implementation of imprisonment for debt procedures, the monitoring of suspended sentences and their potential revocation, as well as the enforcement of ancillary and supplementary penalties provided for by law. It also plays a role in centralizing and processing procedures related to traffic accidents, restitution claims, and the re-enrollment of civil claims.

The BEX's usefulness to the Senegalese judicial system is considerable. It helps strengthen the credibility of the judicial institution, combat the feeling of impunity, and restore the authority of res judicata. By ensuring faster, more predictable, and more transparent enforcement of criminal decisions, the BEX fully contributes to consolidating the rule of law and the overall efficiency of the criminal justice system.

Can you elaborate on the circumstances of its creation?

All credit goes to the current Prosecutor of the High Court of Dakar, Mr. Ibrahima Ndoye.

It is worth recalling that the observation of the judicial system's failure to enforce sentences is not new. As early as 2002, the Attorney General at the Kaolack Court of Appeal issued a circular (No. 155/PGPA KK of May 12, 2002) on the enforcement of sentences, reminding prosecutors under his jurisdiction of their obligation to ensure the effective execution of court decisions. This commitment from practitioners was supported by the Ministry of Justice with the backing of Justice International Cooperation (JCI) and the European Union (EU), which led, in 2019, to the establishment of the first BEX (Bureau d'Exécution des Sentences - Sentence Enforcement Bureau) within the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Saint-Louis High Court, then headed by Prosecutor Ibrahima Ndoye.

A few years later, after taking office as head of the Dakar Public Prosecutor's Office and well before the new authorities reiterated their commitment to revitalizing the BEX (External Prosecution Service), Prosecutor Ibrahima Ndoye made the enforcement of sentences one of his priorities. "A credible prosecutor's office is one that executes its decisions without expecting anything in return, except the satisfaction of having fulfilled its legal duty," he stated at the first coordination meeting.

This commitment quickly materialized into concrete actions: independently securing the necessary staff and logistical support to begin operations at the BEX. Subsequently, the Director of Criminal Affairs and Pardons and his deputy assisted us in strengthening our human and logistical resources.

What was the general situation regarding the execution of sentences before the implementation of the BEX?

Before the establishment of the Sentence Enforcement Office, the execution of criminal decisions was marked by numerous structural deficiencies. Despite the large volume of decisions rendered each year, very few of them were subject to effective follow-up.

In many cases, prison sentences handed down to individuals who had appeared in court while free remained unserved until the statute of limitations expired. The collection of fines and court costs was largely ineffective, resulting in significant financial losses for the public treasury. Ancillary and supplementary penalties, such as the suspension of voting rights or exclusion orders, were rarely applied systematically.

As an illustration, before the establishment of the BEX, the last enforcement documents received from the registry dated back to 2022. For that year, only 123 documents, for a total amount of fines of 42,199,600 CFA francs, had been transmitted to the prosecutor's office and sent to the investigation units without any follow-up being given to them.

This situation resulted from a lack of coordination between stakeholders, insufficient resources, a lack of data centralization, and a lack of expertise. It contributed to fostering a genuine sense of impunity among some convicts, undermining the authority of the justice system.

What assessment can you make of the BEX of the Dakar prosecutor's office after one year of operation?

After a year of operation, the overall results are very satisfactory. The BEX has made it possible to put the execution of decisions back at the heart of the prosecutor's office's daily operations.

In quantitative terms, the BEX has recovered a total amount of 58,071,500 CFA francs in fines and costs, relating to 1,318 cases processed, as detailed below:

Recovery via the short circuit: 47,014,100 CFA francs (80.97% of the amount);

Recovery following the classic circuit (cases prior to 2025): 11,057,400 CFA francs (19.03% of the amount);

Expenses: 15,552,400 CFA francs (26.78% of the amount);

Fines: 42,519,100 CFA francs (73.22% of the amount).

In December 2025 alone, the BEX recovered 10,153,000 CFA francs. These results reflect a marked improvement compared to previous years.

In terms of quality, the BEX has accelerated the execution of decisions and strengthened coordination between the public prosecutor's office, the court registry, the prison administration, and investigative units. Beyond the numbers, it has changed behaviors: convicts are becoming more aware of the inevitability of their sentence, which strengthens deterrence.

I like to tell the story of this defendant who, after his time in prison, went to the BEX (Bureau d'Expression des Enforcements - Office for the Prevention of Crime) swearing he would never steal again. He couldn't understand how a simple mobile phone could have landed him in prison and then forced him to pay a fine, concluding that the phone had cost him "far too much."

What is the final destination of the fines and costs recovered by the BEX?

It is important to clarify that no money is handled by BEX staff. All payments are made directly to the Treasury officials assigned to the Court. Fines and costs constitute public revenue; neither the judges who impose them nor those who collect them have any financial interest.

As Prosecutor Ibrahima Ndoye points out, our only satisfaction is that of a duty fulfilled. Regarding the distribution, 60% of the court fines go to the municipalities (according to the Local Government Code). The remaining 40% are public revenues, a portion of which is allocated to the common fund for court clerks, in accordance with the instructions of the Directorate General of Public Accounting and the Treasury.

Your final word?

Thank you for your interest in the activities of the BEX. I would also like to thank all my colleagues at the Public Prosecutor's Office who are fully involved in this management.

My thanks finally go to the BEX agents: the clerk Maître Alioune Camara, who coordinates the sections, as well as Fatou Sangharé, Matar Ka, Fatou Kiné Thiaré, Khadissa Diedhiou, Mariama Coulibaly, Ibrahima Coulibaly, Katy Gueye, Ibrahima Dieye, Malang Diatta, Rougui Sow, Alboury Seck, Ndèye Khady Ndiaye, Mor Diop, Aida Ndong, Dieynaba Sall, Awa Sy, Mamadou Daff and Sokhna Diarra Bousso Ndour.