Viktor Bérces: Evidence in Criminal Proceedings
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6.2. The French model

6.2. The French model

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Under the French Code of Criminal Procedure (Code de procédure pénale, CPP), there are two main stages of investigation: 1. the preparatory stage 2. the so-called instruction préparatoire.

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  1. In the preparatory phase, the investigating authorities are responsible for finding the facts on which the charges are based. At this stage, investigations are secret and no interviews take place. There are two types of investigation:
    • the so-called enquete préliminaire, which may not exceed 8 days, or
    • the so-called enquete de flagrance, where the time limit can be longer and the police have additional powers during the investigation.
    The police and prosecutors clearly have the leading role in the preparatory phase. The rights of the accused are subject to significant restrictions and the possibility for the victim to intervene is regulated in detail. Whatever the investigative procedure, once it has been completed, the police forward the file to the prosecution. From then on, depending on the seriousness of the offence, there are three ways in which proceedings can continue:
    • In the case of Délit, the police, acting on the instructions of the prosecutor, may directly initiate the prosecution, which they will also notify to the accused. When this happens, the case is either immediately brought before a judicial body known as the “tribunal correctionnel” or the prosecutor makes a motion to open an “instruction”, in which case the summons is served directly by a court bailiff, up to 10 days before the trial (Articles 390 and 555), and only a record of the trial is made (Article 389)
    • In the case of a “crime”, the prosecutor notifies the juge d’instruction to ensure that the facts are investigated properly.
    • In the case of “contravention”, the prosecutor refers the case to the tribunal de police. (1) if the prosecutor chooses the ordinary procedure, the trial is held in public, orally and in contradictory form; in such cases, the prosecution sends the summons by means of a judicial delivery service (Article 531). (2) if the prosecutor opts for the simplified procedure (ordonnance pénale), the trial shall be in writing and not adversarial, and the prosecutor shall send the documents and his observations directly to the judge of the tribunal de police (Article 525).
  2. Proceedings under instruction are the second stage of the investigative phase. The primary aim of these processes is to gather and organise evidence in order to prepare the case for trial. Typical subjects of the process:
    • juge d’ instruction: the ordinary judge in the case, but who also decides whether the suspect should be brought to trial; he is also bound to be impartial in this area (see the inquisitorial model);
    • the juge des libertés et de la détention: the judicial body with exclusive power to order remand in custody or to extend it (Article 137-1);1
    • the Prosecutor: indicates to the juge d’ instruction the facts to be examined; in this respect, he makes recommendations which the said judicial body must follow;
    • the accused: his/her rights are severely limited, and he/she is usually questioned only in court;
    • the victim: has no formal role in the investigation phase, but if the prosecutor drops the charges, he or she can appoint himself or herself partie civil2, and is entitled to compensation in such cases (Article 40);
    • the chambre de l’ instruction as the main body.3
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

The legal instrument known in French criminal law as rectification4 allows the prosecutor, with the tacit consent of the victim and the court, to classify the offence as a misdemeanour in the event of the accused’s confession, thus opening up the possibility of proceedings being conducted before the district courts (tribunal correctionel), which are simpler and quicker than the court of jury trial (cour d’assises).5
1 See a similar construction to the investigating judge in the Hungarian system.
2 See a similar construction to the substitute private prosecutor in the Hungarian system.
3 Csongor Herke: The investigative profession in France. In Bárd–Hack–Holé (2014),ibid. 58–59.
4 Weigend, Thomas: Continental Cures for American Ailments: European Criminal Procedure as a Model for Law Reform. in: Crime and Justice Vol. 2. e. Norval Morris and Michael Tonry. The University of Chicago Press, 1980. 381–428. The principle of mutual recognition. In Árpád Erdei (2010) ibid. 30.
5 Farkas (2010) ibid. 30.
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