A system that allows any person to be informed of his or her rights and obligations, outside of any legal proceedings, and of the means to assert them or to enforce them.
\nIt consists of offering, in locations accessible to all, free services (information, guidance, help in completing procedures, legal consultations, etc.).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
A person charged with a misdemeanor or infraction who has not yet been tried.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
A decision by a court of assizes declaring a defendant tried before it for a crime as not guilty.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
Before the initiation of a public suit, several legal procedures can be implemented by the Public Prosecutor in the framework of article 41-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against the offender: (e.g. reminder of the law, penal mediation, legalization of the situation, request for damages, referral of the perpetrator to a health, social or professional structure)
\nThese measures only concern low-level offences.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
The ankle monitor is a means for amending the sentence of a person sentenced to a prison term. Usually worn on the ankle, it is completed by a GPS box. The person undertakes to remain at home at certain times, with the prison administration monitoring compliance with his or her obligations through the ankle monitor worn.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
The anti-abuse monitor is an electronic device that allows the perpetrator of violence and the victim to be geolocated in real time: the perpetrator wears a monitor, usually placed on the ankle by a member of the prison administration, while the victim is given a small box that can be slipped into his\/her handbag or pocket. This device will be applicable in case of an offence punishable by at least 3 years of imprisonment committed against the victim’s spouse, cohabitant or partner linked by a civil partnership (PACS), including when they are not cohabiting, or committed by the victim’s former spouse or cohabitant or by the person who was linked to her by a civil partnership (PACS).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
An informal appeal allows a person who is dissatisfied with a court decision rendered in the first place to have the case re-examined, in both facts and law, by the court of appeal. The person appealing is the “appellant”; the person against whom the appeal is made is the “respondent”. In criminal matters, appeals against verdicts rendered by a trial court are heard by a new trial court.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
Jurisdiction to judge crimes. It is composed of 3 professional judges and 6 jurors. In principle, it sits in the county seat or the seat of the court of appeal if there is one in the county. Appeals against conviction verdicts rendered by a court of assizes are reviewed by a new court of assizes composed of 3 professional judges and 9 jurors.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Refers to one or more conflicts between private persons or legal entities (individuals, companies, associations…) which do not constitute an offence in the sense of the penal law, and excluding those involving the administration.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
Legal action taken against the perpetrator of an offence to bring him or her before a criminal court. It is initiated by the magistrates of the public prosecutor’s office (Parquet).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
The CIVI allows any victim to obtain, under certain conditions, full or capped compensation for their damages.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
Simplified trial procedure for offenders who have admitted to the offence and who have been sentenced to a maximum of 5 years in prison. The offender must be assisted by a lawyer. The public prosecutor proposes a sentence to the defendant. The sentence, which cannot exceed one year of prison or half of the maximum penalty, must be accepted by the defendant and then approved by a judge.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
A person who files a complaint in court.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
An act by which an injured party asks the criminal authorities to open an investigation into an offence of which he or she has been a victim. Complaints can be filed with the police, gendarmerie or addressed to the public prosecutor.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
Procedure allowing the examining magistrate, the police and the gendarmes, to put several people in the presence of each other, so that they can explain the facts for which they have provided different versions..<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
In criminal matters: a court decision declaring a person guilty of committing an offence and imposing a sentence.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
An offshoot of the judicial court, the correctional court judges misdemeanors (e.g., theft, violence, breach of trust, non-payment of alimony, etc.).
\nIt is a collegial court, which rules with several judges, but it can rule with a single judge for certain offences (road traffic offences, thefts, noise attacks…)
\nIt can impose a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine that varies according to the seriousness of the facts. It can go beyond 10 years for certain offenses.
\nThe court may award damages to the victim (referred to as the civil suit).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
A court of the second degree. It re-examines a case already judged by a court.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
The highest court of the judicial order, located in Paris. Its role is not to retry a case, but to check that court decisions have been rendered in accordance with the rules of law. An action brought before this court is referred to as lodging an appeal in cassation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
The most serious offence. It is punishable by criminal imprisonment and sometimes other penalties: fines, additional penalties. The crime is judged by the court of assizes.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>