This glossary includes terms from criminal law under the legal system in France. Legal terms from other countries that use French language (Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, North Africa, etc.) are not included here. Terms from the French civil code (known as the Napoleonic code) and from French administrative law are generally not included, unless they have repercussions for criminal law. Some common expressions for governmental agencies, position titles, or other concepts are included for convenience even if they are not unique to criminal law, as they come up frequently in definitions of other terms.
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Style
Each entry consists of a bolded headword containing one French expression, followed by an indented section with a translated equivalent or description of the term. Headwords appear as they would be if found in English running text; thus italicized, and in lower case unless always capitalized. Many of these terms can be found in French Wikipedia; if so, then the headword appears in blue and is linked directly to the French Wikipedia article. Below the headword, the indented text may contain either a direct translation of the French term, a definition or description of it, or some combination. A section symbol (§) prefixed before a term indicates a link to another term appearing on the page. Headwords are alphabetized as if they contained no embedded blanks; accented letters are alphabetized as if they were not accented; for example: à perpetuité comes after amende but before appel.
any document having legal significance; an instrument[1]
a term which has no equivalent in English, but means any document or action which has legal implications (contrast § faits matériels). Examples: legacies, contract offers, notices of arrears, but not negligence or commission of a crime, which are faits matériels.[9]
public prosecution;[6][8] criminal proceedings.[b] Actions carried out on behalf of society by the § Ministère public (Public Prosecutor's Office) against those involved in a criminal violation. Action publique is defined by article 1 of the § CPP[10] (French code of criminal procedure).
Usage note:déclencher l'action publique ⟶ to institute criminal proceedings[11]
partial mental disturbance; a perpetrator found by medical experts to have aliénation mentale partielle is § non-imputable and may be found to lack the § élément moral (mens rea) to be charged with an § infraction.[13][14][15]
an appeal.[6][19] The appelant (same word and spelling in English) is the party who is appealing, while the § intimé (respondent) is the party who is the defendant in the appeal proceeding. See also: § pourvoi, § recours.
concerns the legal effects of a law which replaces or amends an older one on the same topic, and the extent to which it applies to situations which arose before it came into force. The old law nevertheless continues to have certain effects.[21]
assigner [quelqu'un] en justice or ... au tribunal ⟶ to summon [someone] to appear before the court[26][27]
assigner [quelqu'un] à résidence ⟶ to restrict [someone] to a residence[28]
association de malfaiteurs
conspiracy[6] (or, when referring to the § auteurs, co-conspirators)
astreinte
a punitive measure[26] by which a court obliges a guilty person to pay a certain sum of money per day of delay if he does not carry out a prior court order to give or to do something[29][30][31]
a lawyer,similar to a barrister,[26] with a specific education and training track which is separate from the § procureurs, who have different professional training and are part of the § magistrature.[35]
The profession of avocat is the oldest in France, going back to the Roman period. They play four roles: providing advice before and during trial (assistance), writing reports on behalf of the client (représentation), giving legal advice, and writing documents. Previously, the professions of § avoués and legal advisors (§ conseils juridiques) were separate and had responsibility for some of the advice and documentary roles, but these were merged into the avocat role in 1971 and 1990. There are about 44,000 avocats.[36]
established in a law of 2 November 1945 with later modifications, they previously had sole responsibility for drafting all court pleadings. In a 1971 law, this responsibility was passed to avocats for courts of the first instance, with the avoués retaining responsibility for appeals documents. There remain a few hundred avoués to fulfill this role.[37]
principle according to which subordinates are expected to ensure the legality of an order before executing it.[32] From the term "intelligent bayonet" meaning "intelligent soldier" (baionnette = soldier, by metonymy) who must consider whether an orders he is given is legal or not.[38]
legal competence. The ability to have rights and obligations and to exercise them oneself. Minors do not have it, neither do adults under guardianship (tutelle) or curatorship (curatelle).[42]
grounds for which a judge might declare a defendant not morally responsible (cf. § élément moral) for a crime, even if they are materially responsible (cf. § élément matériel) for it. It is up to legislators to decide, generally speaking, what acts are to be considered criminal, and it is up to the judges to decide in individual cases whether a defendant is criminally responsible for an act. Some grounds are codified by legislators, such as dementia, physical or moral constraint; the concept of criminal responsibility, in effect presupposes that the perpetrator of a given action acted in full control of their faculties and with § libre arbitre (free will).[45] See also § élément moral, § intention, § aliénation mentale partielle.
A prison or institutional housing for those inmates with the best prospects for reintegration into society. Their detention is mainly oriented towards the resocialization of prisoners.[42]
A document delivered by a § huissier de justice (bailiff) or issued by the § greffe (court registry) that orders a person to appear before a court. Example: § citation (summons to appear).[42]
A decision by the § ministère public (Public Prosecutor's Office) not to prosecute an offense, but to close the affair.[50]
classer sans suite
In the event of an offense, the § ministère public (Public Prosecutor's Office) may decide not to initiate § action publique (criminal proceedings) against the § auteur (perpetrator). The decision can be taken for legal reasons or on the elements of the investigation: unidentified perpetrator, absence or insufficient evidence, withdrawal of complaint.[42] See also: § opportunité des poursuites.
coauteur
a joint principal;[33] based on the idea of a joint endeavor, in which two or more people involved in an act are equally liable for everything that happens, regardless whether they were present or not. The mens rea formed by one is imputed to the others.
French justice does not have a guilty plea or plea bargaining as in common law,[65] but the CRPC allows the prosecutor to offer a reduced sentence of up to one year in prison or half of the maximum penalty if the defendant admits the offense. Introduced in 2004 and later extended to almost all § délits, by 2012 it was 13% of délit prosecutions.[66] See also § coupable.
False friend warning: this is *not* the same as the English term "competent" in the sense of legally of sound mind, which in French is rendered by § capacité juridique.[62]
suspended sentence. A sentence that the convicted person is excused from having to serve, unless found guilty for some other offense within five years.[42]
condamnation définitive
A conviction becomes final when all recourses have been exhausted (e.g., appeal). It cannot be challenged unless the trial is reviewed.[42]
condamnation par défaut
Conviction resulting from a trial in absentia of a person without representation and who was not aware of the date of the § audience (hearing).[42]
a new type of probationary sentence for délits, created in 2014 as a result of the conférence de consensus (Consensus Commission) established by justice minister Christiane Taubira to reduce recidivism.[70]
A non-criminal offense (such as a parking ticket) is a minor offense[33] judged by the police court. The offender is liable to a fine and/or a penalty that deprives or restricts his rights, such as suspension of the driver's license, a ban on issuing checks, etc.[71]
Judicial supervision. A penal measure ordered by the § juge d'instruction or the § juge des libertés et de la détention (liberty and custody judge) pending trial. The convicted person is subject to certain obligations (answering summonses from the § SPIP, a prohibition on meeting certain people or frequenting certain places, § obligation de soins (court-ordered treatment) etc. and may benefit, depending on his or her situation, from social support.[42] See § suivi judiciaire.
Usage note:cour and § tribunal both mean "court", but there is a hierarchy between them: tribunal is a court of § instance, whereas a § cour is an appeals court. Further, different terms are used for their rulings: a § tribunal gives a § jugement, whereas a cour renders an § arrêt.[73]
court that tries the most serious offenses.[33][62] The court having jurisdiction over § crime, composed of three professional judges and six jurors. In principle, it is situated in the chief town of the department or in the seat of the court of appeal if there is one in the department. Appeals against conviction verdicts (§ condamnation) handed down by an Assize Court are reviewed by another Assize Court composed of three professional judges and nine jurors.[42]
court that hears final appeals on points of law only.[33] The supreme court of the § ordre judiciaire, dealing within the 'ordinary' courts,[72] 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 appeal before this court is called a § pourvoi en cassation.
serious offense; serious crime;[33] an offense judged by a § court of assizes. The penalty is more than 10 years imprisonment and the fine is at least 75,000 euros.[71]
Translation note: Despite the obvious cognate, there is no wide agreement on how to translate crime into English, and in the context of the penal code, the English word crime is rarely if ever used. Translator Edward Tomlinson chose the words felony.[75] See the Translation note at § délit.
disqualification[11] Loss of a right as a penalty, or because of non-compliance with conditions governing its exercise. Example: loss of civic rights following a criminal conviction.[76]
A written summary of the case, representing the resolution adopted by the court and the reasoning that led to it.[76] Compare: § arrêt, § jugement, § ordonnance, and § relaxe. See also: § cour.
This entry is about a governmental regulation. For the exceptional power of the executive used by the Third Republic government during the post-World War I crisis period, see § décret-loi.
Background: Historically, the word décret has undergone numerous changes of meaning since its use under the Ancien régime, where it meant an arrest warrant. During the Constitutional monarchy (1789–92), it took on the new meaning of a text from the legislative branch. In the Constitution of 1795 the term was replaced by résolution. It reappeared in the Napoleonic era with the meaning of a text promulgated by the head of state, disappearing and reappearing again several times with various senses, until it finally took its current meaning in the Constitution of 1848. Until the end of the Third Republic, a décret could be issued only by the head of state; in the Third Republic and Fourth Republic the head of government also had this power.[citation needed]
§ décret-loi (plural: décrets-lois), an exceptional power of the executive during the post-WWI crisis period of the Third Republic.[82]Décrets-lois were enabling measures taken during the interwar period expanding the powers of the executive to balance the budget and protect the monetary system. Although subject to parliamentary ratification, they were seen as having the force of law. This ability of the executive to create law was abrogated in the Constitution of the Fourth Republic in 1946, and then resurrected in the § loi d'habilitation provision of the 1958 Constitution of the Fifth Republic.[83]
Literally 'criminal default', a judgment by default describes the court procedure by which a criminal trial may proceed, even in the absence of the defendant.[84][85][86]
adjectival form of § délit, meaning: that which constitutes a délit, or is characteristic of a délit. Also: délictuelle, délictueux, délictueuse.[88][89]
Example: "Un délit est une infraction punie d'une peine délictuelle" ⟶ A délit is an offense punishable by a criminal ("delictuel") punishment."[89]
Usage note: in informal language, may mean any offense. The adjectival form is § delictuel, delictueux, -euse.
Translation note: There is no agreement in English sources about how to refer to délit in English. The tripartite division of § infractions in French law does not line up well with concepts in common law, and translations of délit into English vary greatly. Some terms seen include: felony,[91]major offense,[23]intermediate offense,[11]minor offense, minor crime,[92] and misdemeanor.[93] Many English sources describe the term on first appearance, and then just refer to it using the French term after that. Note that the English cognate delict exists (see Delict) but that word is rarely used in English to represent the French term.
Edward Tomlinson described the problem in the Transator's Preface to his 1999 translation of the 1994 Penal code. Tomlinson chose the words felony, misdemeanor, and petty infraction for the French terms § crime, délit, and § contravention. He points out how inexact the correspondence is between the French and English terms, and that délit has a broad range of possible penalties which at high end can be ten years imprisonment, which is well within the range of felonies in the common law system.[75]
délit materièl
a major offense which only requires as a mens rea that the defendant's conduct be voluntary[11]
Literally: to denounce. When notice of an § infraction (offense) is given to the police or to the § procureur (public prosecutor's office) by a third party, the verb used is dénoncer,[94] and the notice is a dénonciation. Compare: § porter plainte.
a measure ordered by the § juge des libertés et de la détention at the request of the § juge d'instruction (investigating judge). The latter may request that a person under investigation for a § crime or § délit punishable by at least three years' imprisonment be placed in prison *before* trial. The § détention provisoire (pre-trial detention) must be strictly substantiated according to the conditions provided by law.[76]
misappropriation; the act of dispossessing someone of something of value which was entrusted to them in confidence. Can be a civil or professional offense, or a criminal offense. Among the latter, it constitutes the § élément matériel of § délits such as § abus de confiance. See also: § abus. Some subtopics:
Détournement de biens par un dépositaire public (CP 432-15)[95][96]
détournement de fonds, a confidence scheme involving fraudulent appropriation of funds
détournement de mineur, removing a minor from the adults having authority over them; kidnapping (CP 227-7)[97][98]
détournement d'objet donné en gage, removal of a security or collateral intended for a creditor (CP 314-5)[99][100]
détournement d'objet saisi moving (hiding) an object for which confiscation has been ordered (CP 314-6)[101][100]
détournement de pouvoir, when a public official goes beyond their remit, in order to achieve a goal not within the authority of their position. (such acts are nullified, and not a criminal offense) See § abus de pouvoir.
détournement de procédure, when a public official uses a technique envisioned by law for one specific purpose, for a different one, in order to get around some judicial obstacle and attain some other goal. (a civil, not a criminal offense)
court's finding (stated at the end of the decision)[11]
The dispositif of a § décision de justice (court decision) is the last part of a judgment or ruling that describes the resolution of the dispute and is binding on the parties.[76]
doctrine
academic writing, learned opinion, the writing of leading authorities[62]
d'office
ex officio; by virtue of their office. The ability of a public official to act on their own accord, rather than by request of someone.[102]
Usage note: depending on context, could be translated as 'automatically', 'by virtue of their office', 'acting on their own initiative'.[102]
dol indéterminé ⟶ where a person acts intending a certain result, but without being able to foresee the actual outcome[103]
dol spécial ⟶ criminal intent. There is dol spécial, or criminal intent, when the perpetrator of an act that threatens an interest protected by criminal law does so with the intention of damaging that interest.[106]
Civil law.[107] One of the two branches of § droit privé (private law), the other being § droit pénal (criminal law). Includes the fields of § droit commercial (commercial law), droit social (welfare law), (droit judiciaire privé) civil procedure, and others[108]
Literally, "written law". In a traditional sense, mostly used in the expression § pays de droit écrit ("land of written law") referring to the south of France in the context of the development of law in France during the Middle Ages.[citation needed] In a more modern sense, refers to documents such as the § Constitution, statutes (§ lois), regulations (§ réglements), and § ordonnances which are defined and delineated in the Constitution.[109]
Also, régle impérative; closely related to § ordre public, this is a law of guidance for the citizen that has a higher level of compulsion than § droit supplétif and may not be overridden.[9]
criminal law. Criminal law is "the set of legal rules that govern the State's response to offenses and offenders".[53]Droit pénal deals with an individual's rights and obligations under the law, as codified in a criminal code (§ code pénal). Under French criminal law, the criminal code (defines what acts (or omissions) are punishable.[54] Contrast § procédure pénale.
private law, concerned with the rights between private individuals.[56] In Montesquieu's words: "laws concerning the relationship that all citizens have with each other".[110] One half of § dualisme juridictionnel (jurisdictional dualism).
public law; pertains to the relationship between the government and the governed.[110] One half of § dualisme juridictionnel (jurisdictional dualism).
the relationship between the State and the individual, or the organization of the state[56]
All the rules concerning the organization and operation of the State, local authorities, and administration, as well as their relations with private persons.[76] Contrast: § droit privé.
Also régle supplétive; closely related to § ordre public, this is a law of guidance for the citizen that is presumed to be followed in the absence of evidence to the contrary; a default course of action which may, however, be overridden under explicit circumstances. Contrast with § droit impératif, which has a higher level of compulsion and may not be overridden.[9]
Schema showing jurisdictional dualism in the French legal system
Jurisdictional dualism in France, Lit., "jurisdictional duality"; consists in the existence of two separate jurisdictional systems, or "orders of jurisdiction": the § ordre administratif (administrative order) corresponding to public law (§ droit public) and the § ordre judiciaire (judicial order) corresponding to private law (§ droit privé), headed respectively by the § Conseil d'État (Council of State) for administrative law, and the § Cour de cassation (Court of Cassation) for judicial law (with conflicts of jurisdiction between the two handled by the § Tribunal des conflits). This jurisdictional separation resulted from a long political and administrative history, and is now constitutionally protected.[111]
A § procès verbal (written legal act) that a person has been turned over to a prison warden for detention, including the name of the inmate, the date, and the reasons for incarceration.[112][113] An act of committal; a legal document drawn up for any person who is taken to a penitentiary establishment or who presents himself there voluntarily.[114][115]
the actus reus of an offense (lit.: material element). This is the visible, external part of the offense, i.e., the actions involved in carrying out a criminal act.[117][118][119][69] Contrast: § élément moral.
Special forces of the prison administration system who intervene in case of serious tensions at a prison. It is composed of about forty specially trained and equipped surveillance personnel who attempt to prevent incidents from escalating, participate in general searches and restore order if necessary.[128]
rule of law (lit. "state of law").[131]État de droit is one of many ways that the principle of "rule of law" is rendered in French, including: prééminence du droit, primauté du droit, principe de droit, régime de droit, règne du droit, respect de la loi, principe de légalité, or communauté de droit. Although there is debate about the point, there is a general consensus that état de droit and rule of law are equivalent.[132]
literally 'civil status', but no equivalent in English law. Designates a range of characteristics of a person that define both rights and duties based on age, nationality, parentage, adoption, premature majority (émancipation). These are kept in a special records office presided over by the officier de l'état civil.[133]
False testimony. Perjury is a very serious offense, since it undermines not only one of the parties to trial, but also the moral authority of justice. If it is committed for money, it is considered to be corruption.[136]
The Fichier national automatisé des empreintes génétiques is a national system for managing the data about genetic traces of those convicted of certain crimes (rape, murder, drug-dealing) as well as those suspected of those crimes with strong evidence, in order to facilitate the identification and apprehension of perpetrators.[139]
that which can be enforced, if necessary, by the public force (Example: a judgment). Certain ordinances, notably administrative or notarial, can also be enforceable.[139]
A boilerplate text serving as a model which can be used to draft legal documents of the same type. Example: a formule de testament is a boilerplate draft which can be used as a starting point for drawing up a testament.[142][example needed]
the wording affixed by the § greffier (clerk) at the bottom of the copy of a court decision (judgment or ruling) intended for the party that won the case, to enable them to proceed with enforcement. This enforceable copy is called the "§ grosse".[139]
arrest; police custody during a police investigation. Normally, the detention lasts a maximum 24 hours;[144][145][146][147] covered in § CPP article 62-2.[148] Formerly, garde à vue applied to witnesses as well.[126]
Usage note:mis[e] en garde à vue or placé[e] en garde à vue ⟶ "held in [police] custody", "taken into custody", "placed under arrest"
a judicial clerk; court clerk.[150] Auxiliary officers who perform clerical duties, draw up documents, and ensure their authenticity and safekeeping. All informational acts by a § juge d'instruction must be performed with the assistance of his clerk.[154][156]
A copy of a court decision bearing the § formule exécutoire, a draft of the order necessary to enforce it.[144] The name derives from the fact that it in earlier times, the person delivering it was paid by the page, so it was to their advantage to write it in large letters to increase the number of pages and thus earn a higher fee. Now better known as the § copie exécutoire.[157]
hierarchy of norms, or hierarchy of laws. An analysis which views laws as occupying a hierarchy in which laws base their validity upon a higher level norm, and so on, forming a hierarchy, such that laws are validated in a regression of validity ending in the Constitution.[160] The notion was first developed by Hans Kelsen[160] in his Pure Theory of Law and the hierarchy concept is often referred to in French legal texts. Often visualized as "Kelsen's pyramid".
bailiff, sheriff, process-server.[150] a ministerial officer charged with writing certain documents, and implementing certain acts or judiciary decisions.[161][162][163] Some functions are similar to that of an authorized bailiff, or an official process server authorized by the government.
of a private person: someone deprived—by law or by court order—of the enjoyment or exercise of certain rights. This is the case for minors or protected adults (majeurs protégés).[169]
Usage notes:
incapacité d'ester en justice ⟶ lack of standing before the court[168]
incapacité d'exercice ⟶ incapacity to exercise one's own rights without assistance; absence of legal capacity[168]
lack of jurisdiction.[170][150] Inability of a court to hear a case for reasons relating either to the nature of the case (e.g., the § tribunal correctionnel cannot try § crime (major crimes)), or to the nature of the person involved (e.g., the correctional court cannot try minors), or to the geographical location of one or more of the parties (e.g., the correctional court cannot try an offense committed outside its § ressort (geographical jurisdiction) by a perpetrator who lives outside the jurisdiction)[169] See also: compétent.
Usage notes:
déclaration d'incompétence ⟶ finding of lack of jurisdiction
incompétence a raison du lieu ⟶ lack of jurisdiction ratione loci such as the defendant's place of residence
Informant, informer; someone who provides privileged information to law. enforcement.[172] Also: informateur.
indices
clues. Traces, items, or material circumstances, which can be examined objectively and which may shed light on certain facts surrounding the commission of an offense.[172]
Infamie (disgrace) is a decision, action or omission that undermines a person's reputation, taints his honor, or stains him with dishonor. Doucet I-6. Roman law, and Ancient law after it, recognized the judicial decision of infamy, which subjected the person concerned to certain social degradations. This type of sanction can work with people concerned with their honor and reputation.[174]
the phase of criminal proceedings that precedes a judgment and during which the § juge d'instruction, under the control of the § Chambre de l'instruction (Investigating Chamber), carries out research to establish the truth, gathers and assesses evidence, hears the persons involved or being prosecuted and the witnesses, and decides whether or not to charge a person (mettre en examen) and what action to take:[169] See § instruction préparatoire.
a serious offense; a crime. Narrower in meaning than "criminal offense" in English, which can cover a variety of offenses from very serious to petty. See § crime, which also has a narrower meaning than English "crime", and § infraction.
infraction flagrante
offense giving rise to an expedited investigation[135]
infraction formelle
complete offense that does not require a result[135]
infraction matérielle
offense which only requires as a mens rea that the defendant's conduct be voluntary. The nearest UK equivalent is a strict liability offense.[135]
An offense is a behavior strictly forbidden by criminal law and sanctioned by a penalty provided for by it.[71]Infractions are divided into three types; from most to least serious, they are: § crime, § délit, and § contravention. The English cognate infraction is less often used for this, and in fact is more often seen as the translation of contravention, as in Tomlinson's use of petty infraction to translate § contravention.[75]
A measure ordered against a person convicted of a § crime or § délit, particularly in the case of a sexual or drug offense. It is pronounced by a magistrate after expert medical advice and upon the agreement of the convict. The convicted person then undergoes medical treatment and monitoring by a doctor.[169][175][176][177]
A dispute brought before a court of law, as well as the entirety of the proceedings, from the initial petition to the judgment. In principle, in the event of an appeal, the case gives rise to new instance, or set of proceedings before another court.[169] The initial petition takes place before a court of first instance, and if appealed, that would be a court of second instance.
pre-trial investigation;[150] judicial investigation;[178] the investigative procedure in which a § juge d'instruction gathers evidence about the commission of an offense and decides on referral to the trial court of the accused parties. See also § instruction préparatoire.
Impossibility for a court to study a request for justice, on the grounds that it does not respect the conditions required by law, whether they are a question of form (e.g., the time limit of the procedure not being respected) or of substance (e.g., a person claiming to be a victim does not provide proof of the alleged damage).[169]
Provisions of the law which exonerate a perpetrator from criminal responsibility for an offense and therefore exclude any conviction against him, in cases such as mental disorder, duress, self-defense, state of necessity.[169] See § causes de non-imputabilité, § élément moral, § libre arbitre.
probation judge;[65][e] The judge responsible for supervising the implementation of prison sentences (leave, § libération conditionnelle (parole), semi-liberty, § bracelet électronique (electronic surveillance) with the goal of § réinsertion (reintegration into society) and the prevention of § récidive (recidivism).[185][186] They review the sentence, assess the offender's employment and family situation, and any efforts they have made to make amends or reparations, and may decide on a different penalty than the one received at trial.[90] See also: § tribunal de l'application des peines.
judge, court.[187] By metonymy, it may also be used to mean courts in general.[188][f]
juge délegué
a judicial post that existed briefly between two reforms in 1993 before being abolished; was responsible for deciding whether to put someone into § détention provisoire[126]
Investigating judge. In criminal procedure, the magistrate in charge of gathering all the elements of an offense.[190] In charge of the most complex criminal cases (mandatory for § crime (serious crimes) and optional for § délits (lesser crimes).) Directs the investigation and as such gives instructions to the police and gendarmes. Can put a person under investigation and place him under § contrôle judiciaire judicial supervision, or request that he be remanded in custody by the § juge des libertés et de la détention (JLD). Gathers evidence considered useful for establishing the truth, directs the interrogations, confrontations and hearings, and puts together the dossier that will be submitted to the § tribunal correctionnel (criminal court) or the § cour d'assise (court of assizes) for trial.[185] The juge d'instruction handles about 2% of cases; the other 98% are under the § procureur.[191]
Feudal manorial justice (justice seigneuriale) was a medieval mode of organization of the judicial system in most of Europe in the Middle Ages. Seigniorial courts in the kingdom of France numbered around 20,000 on the eve of the Revolution, and constituted the basis of judicial organization, along with the provosts' courts (prévôtés, subordinate royal courts) which were abolished in the middle of the eighteenth century.
Justification. A criminal defense where the defendant claims to have done nothing wrong because the fact of committing the crime promoted some social interest or asserted a right of such importance as to outweigh any wrongfulness of the crime.
Usage note:fait justificatif ⟶ such a defense; justification; objective defense[135]
A person is deemed to be acting in self-defense when they respond to an immediate and unjustified attack on their person, another person or their property, provided that the means of defense are proportional to the gravity of the attack. In this case, the person is not held criminally responsible for the harm that they may have caused in self-defense.[197]
A sentence adjustment, under the supervision of the § juge de l'application des peines (sentence enforcement judge), for convicts who show serious efforts at social rehabilitation. Similar to parole, or early release for good behavior.[197]
libération sur parole
parole. A prisoner is paroled (French: libéré sur parole, lit. 'liberated on their word') when he is allowed to leave the place of detention under the sole condition of respecting certain commitments taken on honor. This term is mostly obsolete in modern France, except in some military contexts. It is similar to what is now called § libération conditionnelle.[198]
liberté surveillée
a security measure taken against a juvenile offender who is placed under the supervision of an educator appointed by the juvenile judge.[199][200]
free will. A philosophical concept going back at least to Aristotle, and to Augustine in theological discussions about who has responsibility for evil acts. A person is said to have free will when they can, of their own volition, control their instincts and impulses, behave rationally, and act in accordance with moral and social laws. Classical criminological doctrine about guilt is based on this concept. From a legislative viewpoint, lawmakers generally presume that adults have free will, leaving it up to judges to determine how individual cases may depart from the general one. If they find that a § prévenu (accused) was under some irresistible constraint that deprived them of free will, a judge may declare them not responsible, given that there is a § cause de non-imputabilité.[201] See moral responsibility, legal responsibility.
A law. A written rule of general and impersonal scope. It applies to all without exception. It is discussed, drafted, amended and voted on by the Parlement (Assemblée nationale and Sénat) in identical versions. It is promulgated (officially declared and published) by the § Président de la République and published in the Journal officiel (JO).[197] Once it has been promulgated, a loi is not subject to judicial review of its legality or constitutionality.[204]
The word § loi is used to express written law, (the word législation exists but is less used); loi has a broad meaning, encompassing the Constitution, international treaties, administrative réglements (regulations), etc.; as well as a narrower sense equivalent to English statute, meaning a law passed by the legislature.[207]Loi is distinguished from § régles by having three fundamental properties; they are: 1) general in nature; 2) abstract; and 3) permanent.[208]
A statute;[209] traditionally, it is any law voted on by Parliament. However, § Article 34 of the 1958 Constitution limited Parliament's powers, due to Parlliamentary obstructionism in the Fourth Republic, to making laws which are particularly important in the way they affect the State or individuals; everything else is reserved to the government by § Article 37; these are known as § réglements autonomes, to distinguish them from réglements d'exécution des lois, to distinguish them from details about laws already passed by Parliament.[209]
Since the 1958 Constitution, a statute is more constrained than it traditionally was, and Parliament's role is more constrained. Now, a statute must strictly conform to Article 34, otherwise it is within the purview of the government's regulatory power. In addition, where formerly statutes could not be reviewed once promulgated, the Conseil constitutionnel has chipped away at that in reforms since 1958 including establishing the § principes fondamentaux reconnus par les lois de la République including aggregating some power to itself which makes it a bit more analogous to the U.S. Supreme Court, whereas before 1958 Constitutions had less of a fundamental role in determining other laws because there had been so many of them. A fundamental difference between a statute and a regulation, is that a statute must be declared by the President of the Republic and published in the § Journal Officiel, and takes effect the next day.[210]
a new constitutional feature defined in § Article 38 of the 1958 Constitution.[25] The loi d'habilitation is an enabling act in the form of a § loi (statute) which may be issued by § Parliament upon request of the government to temporarily delegate Parliament's constitutional law-making power to the government in a specifically defined subject area and for a specific length of time. While in effect, Parliament is blocked from issuing statutes in that area, and the government is permitted to draw up § ordonnances that normally would be beyond their remit. The ordonnance comes into effect immediately, but must be ratified by Parliament before the end of the period or it expires. Until ratification, the § ordonnance has the same status as a § réglement (regulation), and can therefore be challenged by the § Conseil d'État (Council of State); but after ratification, it takes on the same status as a statute (loi), and can no longer be challenged.[25][211] In practice, there have been 23 such lois d'habilitation from 1960 to 1990, with effective periods from one month to three and a half years, resulting in 150 ordonnances; about a third of them are subsequently ratified by Parliament.[25]
trial judge. Also: juge du siège; literally, the "sitting" judiciary.[126]
magistrature debout
public prosecutors, collectively; branch of the judiciary which addresses the court on behalf of the § ministère public;[212] literally, 'standing judiciary'. See also: § parquet.
mandat d'amener – order given by a § juge d'instruction to any law enforcement officer to bring a person before them; including with the use of coercive measures if required.[214] Order given by the § juge d'instruction (investigating judge) to the police or § gendarmerie to immediately bring a person under investigation before him, including by force.[149]
mandat d'arrêt – order given by a criminal court judge to any law enforcement officer to search for a person, arrest him or her and take him or her to a detention center[214][149]
mandat de dépôt – Order given by a magistrate to the head or director of a penitentiary to receive, or to keep in detention, a person under investigation.[149]
mandat de perquisition – a "search warrant" does not exist in French law; this expression is only used when talking about foreign legal systems. Not to be confused with mandat de recherche.
mandat de recherche – warrant which may be issued for a person for whom reasonable grounds exist that he may have committed an § infraction. It is the order given to § force publique (police) to search for the person in question and to take him into custody (placer en § garde à vue).[214] added in 2004.[215] Not to be confused with a "search warrant" in common law; see mandat de perquisition.
an alternative measure to criminal proceedings. At the suggestion of the public prosecutor, it brings together the perpetrator and the victim of a criminal offense in the presence of a third party mediator authorized by the justice system. It consists of finding a freely negotiated solution and defining the terms of reparation.
brief; Written document addressed to the Court of Cassation or to the administrative courts in which the parties set out their respective claims and arguments.[149]
When a person is dangerous, the judge may decide to apply a penal sanction of a preventive nature, such as therapeutic treatment or placement under mobile electronic surveillance. (See PSEM).[149]
The Public Prosecutor's Office. All magistrates working in the courts and tribunals of the § ordre judiciaire (judicial order), responsible for representing the interests of society and ensuring respect for public order and the application of the law. The § ministère public (Public Prosecutor's Office) is hierarchical (§ procureur général (public prosecutor), § procureur (public prosecutor), deputy public prosecutor (§ procureur-adjoint), vice-public prosecutor, and deputy public prosecutor) and subordinate to the Minister of Justice. It does not benefit from lifetime tenure. See § Procureur de la République, § Procureur général, § Poursuites (Prosecution).[149]
A criminal charge against an accused (§ accusé) by the investigating judge § juge d'instruction that serious evidence exists making it probable that the accused may have participated, as perpetrator or accomplice, in the commission of an § infraction.[220] Compare indictment. The term mise en examen replaced the earlier § inculpation in 1993.
mise en mouvement
set in motion; initiation; launch
la mise en mouvement de l'action publique ⟶ initiation of criminal proceedings.[221]
Decision of an investigating court to put an end to criminal proceedings when it considers that an offense has not been established or that there is insufficient evidence against the perpetrator or accomplice of the offense; or when the accused is considered, for example, not to be criminally responsible at the time of the offense.[citation needed]
A person holding an office conferred by the State and appointed by the decision of a minister. Ministerial officers include: solicitors at the courts of appeal, the bailiffs (§ huissiers de justice), the notaries (notaires), and the lawyers at the Council of State and at the Court of Cassation. Some of them are also public officers (§ officier public).[225]
Under the Ancien Régime, a regulation issued by the king.[227]
In legislative context, a third category of law, defined by § Article 38 of the French Constitution of 1958, and sitting beside parliamentary § lois defined by § Article 34 and governmental § réglements (by § Article 37). This new type of law is called an ordonnance, and provides the government with temporary power to make law equal to a parliamentary § loi when specifically authorized by parliament to do so. See § loi d'habilitation. According to the § hierarchie des normes (hierarchy of norms), ordonnances sit at the same level as lois ordinaires and réglements.[228]
In a judiciary context, in criminal law, a decision taken by a single judge, for example the § juge d'instruction, such as an order of release (§ ordonnance) or an order of dismissal (ordonnance de non-lieu). (In civil law, the ordonnance is only provisional.)[224]
A simplified procedure for § contraventions (minor offenses) and certain § délits, particularly those related to automobile traffic. The § tribunal de police (police court) or the § tribunal correctionnel (criminal court) decides, by penal order whether or not to sentence the offender to a fine, or to certain penalties such as driving license suspension without the offender appearing in court.[224] Not to be confused with § ordonnance.
'public policy'[216] is a rough equivalent in English, but the term is more central in French law and used more widely, comprising issues like public order, public morality, and public interest.[9] A set of rules governing life in society and enacted in the general interest. A rule is characterized as being about "public order" when it is mandatory and imposed for imperative reasons of protection, safety or morality. Persons may not transgress these rules in any way and may not exercise any rights which would otherwise be available to them if they violate them.[225]
A civil plaintiff in a criminal proceeding. This is a person who considers himself to be the victim of an § infraction (offense) for which an § action publique (criminal proceeding) has been initiated in the criminal courts, and who wishes to obtain compensation for his loss. This is a specific type of procedure in which a criminal proceeding and an § partie civile (civil proceeding) are combined, namely when a criminal prosecution also has a civil portion involving damages attached to it.
This term also designates the procedure (the complaint by a civil party) allowing the victim to go either to the investigating judge or the competent court to obtain compensation.[231]
Zone of customary law in the north and written law in the south
the "land of customary law" (pays de droit coutumier) in the northern part of France (roughly north of the Loire) during the Middle Ages where the law depended chiefly on a version of laws of Germanic origin.[232][233] Contrast § pays de droit écrit.
the "land of written law" (pays de droit écrit) in the southern part of France (roughly south of the Loire) during the Middle Ages where the law depended chiefly on a version of Roman law.[234][233] Contrast § pays de droit coutumier.
an additional penalty automatically added to the § peine principale (main sentence); it cannot be imposed on its own, except when it is pronounced in place of the main sentence; it automatically follows from the main sentence. Since 2005, peine accessoires are prohibited by article 132-17 of the penal code.[235][236][237] Contrast § peine complémentaire.
peine afflictive (lit. 'afflictive punishment') – a punishment that targets the criminal in his person; originally corporal punishment (1501) but anything affecting the body including § réclusion, exile, or death.[238]
a penal sanction pronounced to plunge the convicted person into pain and sadness. While the penal code of 1810 still used this term, the 1993 Code ignores it.[239]
peine infamante (lit. 'punishment of dishonor') - A punishment is considered to be § infamante (defamatory; degrading; dishonorable) when it is detrimental to the honor of the convicted person, and more precisely to the reputation he enjoys in society. Article 6 of the penal code of 1810 described banishment and degradation as simply dishonorable sentences. The current code does not use this term.[240]
an additional penalty[242] added to the main sentence and not merely implied by it (as is the case with § peine accessoire) it reinforces the main sentence and can be optional or mandatory.[235] It may apply to § crimes or § délits, and one or more additional penalties may be added to the main sentence.[243][183] Contrast § peine accessoire.
A designation for any of several workshops established by the law § Perben II or thereafter as an alternative sentence for someone convicted of a § délit (middle-level offense) in areas such as: safe driving, drugs, domestic violence, sex trafficking, parental responsibility, sexism and equality of women and men, and combatting animal cruelty. See § stage de citoyenneté,[260][261] and § stage de formation civique.
An investigative measure that consists of searching for evidence of an offense, at a person's home or in any location where it may be found.[231][263] In the context of a § enquête de flagrance investigation, the consent of the occupant and the decision of the § juge des libertés are not necessary; beyond that, the concept of a search warrant as used in U.S. or Canadian law does not exist in French law.
A legal person.[231] An organization recognized as having a legal existence and that as such, holds rights and obligations (Example: a company, an association); Contrast: § personne physique.
Electronic surveillance, such as an electronic bracelet, is a method of enforcing a prison sentence outside of a prison establishment. The bracelet, most often attached to the ankle, is an electronic transmitter that makes it possible to detect, at a distance, the presence or absence of the convicted person in a place and for a period previously determined in the context of the sentence.[231]
A security measure that can be imposed for a period of two years as part of the § libération conditionnelle (conditional release) of a person sentenced to a long prison term for certain offenses. The § bracelet électronique (electronic bracelet), is generally worn on the ankle, and is supplemented by a GPS device. The device is managed by the prison administration and makes it possible to verify the person's location and that they respect the obligations and prohibitions set by judicial authorities. It promotes reintegration into society (§ réinsertion) by providing support and monitoring compliance with the obligations set by the § juge de l'application des peines (probation judge).[231]
In the broader sense, the act of reporting by a victim of an activity, state of affairs, or punishable behavior to an administrative, civil, criminal, or disciplinary authority.[265] Contrast: § dénonciation.
any act or word that calls into question the honor of a person, to the point that he can not let the outrage go unpunished. In the past it was legitimate cause for a duel, but since dueling was prohibited, the sole arbiter for attacks on the moral integrity of a person is the courts.[267]
Usage note (in other contexts):
faire un point d'honneur [de] – to make a point of something.[268]
mettre un point d'honneur [à] – emphasize; be committed to, dedicated to, devoted to; put special care into; make a point of.[268]
Judicial police are police involved with criminal investigation.[269] Officers of the judicial police (O.P.J.) may include: mayors and their assistants, officers of the gendarmerie, inspectors general, deputy directors of active police, controllers general, police commissioners and police officers; senior civil servants of the police nationale (national police force), and directors or deputy directors of the judicial police or the gendarmerie.[189]
porter plainte
Literally: to bring a complaint (§ plainte). When notice of an § infraction (offense) is given to the police or to the § procureur (public prosecutor's office) by the victim of the offense, the term used is porter plainte.[94] Compare: § dénoncer.
poursuite
prosecution, in the sense of poursuite judiciaire[270]
Usage note: in other contexts, it means "pursuit", or "continuation" (non-legal sense).
There are several definitions which have evolved over time. The classic one, dating to Montesquieu, is the § séparation des pouvoirs (separation of powers) definition into three branches of governmental power or authority. In the 1958 Constitution, the pouvoirs publics are the institutions created or mentioned in the Constitution and establised by law. Today, a broader conception of the term public authorities is used. It refers to all public authorities holding power, including local governments. This means that public authorities are involved in a wide range of economic and social fields, such as economic regulation and social protection. This extension of areas of intervention mainly benefits the executive branch (with, in particular, significant regulatory powers).[274]
préjudice
injury; Damage to a person's property, body, feelings or honor. There are four types:[275]
préjudice d'agrément (of enjoyment) – : the damage that results, generally following a bodily injury, from the deprivation of the enjoyment of certain acts of everyday life, such as the exercise of an artistic activity, a leisure activity, or a sport.
préjudice corporel (bodily injury) – injury to the health or physical or mental integrity of a person. Example: wound, infirmity.
préjudice matériel (material damage) – Damage to property. Example: dégâts, damage, physical deterioration, loss of income.
préjudice moral (emotional or psychological harm) – damage of a psychological nature. Example: suffering linked to the loss of a loved one.
In common speech, a synonym for dommage (damages; a term from civil law), but legally distinct.
limitation period;[11]statute of limitations. Elapsed time after which no proceedings may be instituted against the § auteur (perpetrator) of an § infraction (offense): ten years for a § crime, three years for a § délit, and one year for a § contravention. Terms are longer for offenses against minors.[231][276] Also known as prescription de l'action publique.
président
president.
chief justice; e.g., when speaking of the judge who presides over the § Cour d'assises.
The principle of legality is one of the most fundamental principles of French criminal law and holds that no one may be convicted of a criminal offense without a prior published legal text describing the offense and the penalty.[282][283][284][283]Latin: Nullum crimen, nulla pœna sine lege, lit. 'no crime, no penalty, without a law'.
The adversarial system (or, "adversarial law"), is a system of justice whose rules of procedure are based on the parties to the litigation. Thus, the lawyers for the plaintiff and defendant are responsible for presenting their version of the facts and convincing the judge or jury of the merits of their case. This is the system used in common law countries, but is not used in France. Contrast § procédure inquisitoire.
procédure d'irrecevabilité
procedure opposing legislation outside the remit of Parliament[285]
criminal procedure.[285] Focuses on how individuals accused of crimes are dealt with in the criminal justice system: how people are investigated, prosecuted, tried, and punished. In France, these procedural issues are codified in the French code of criminal procedure (§ code de procédure pénale).[54] Contrast § droit pénal (criminal law).
In legal context: a legal act drawn up by a public official, usually a § greffier, that transcribes findings, statements, reports, or a situation. Examples: notes about an investigation, or a seizure)[287][288]
In other contexts: minutes; record; transcript.[289]
Qualification judiciaire (lit.: 'judicial qualification') is a process of reasoning that seeks to establish that the particular acts which the suspect is accused of fall within the scope of a legal charge and therefore constitute a criminal offense which is within the jurisdiction of the criminal courts. The procedure consists of bridging the gap between the facts, and the law, to determine whether the de facto situation can be matched with some legal notion, and that the facts alleged by the prosecutor correspond in every respect to acts incriminated by the legislature.[290]
Usage note: no established translation in English; terms seen include: penal qualification, penal categorization, penal status, to be criminal in nature, criminal qualification, classified as criminal, to be a matter for criminal law.
"aggravating", when used with some crimes. The term crime qualifié or délit qualifié (roughly, "aggravated felony") is used to refer to an offense when there is an aggravating circumstance. Parricide, for example, is a felony murder;[291] similarly, a vol qualifié (lit., "aggravated theft") is "armed robbery" or "aggravated robbery".
Usage notes:
In judgments by magistrates, the expression majorité qualifiée is used when a legislator requires a supermajority of 2/3.
In non-legal context, qualifié de means "characterized as" (or "by"), or "described as"; as a simple adj. or past participle, qualifié means "qualified", as in English.
quiconque
anyone who; everyone who; whoever. Used legally to emphasize that it applies to everyone, without exception. Judges use the term a lot for this reason, because it underlines the principle of § égalité devant la loi (equality before the law). [290]
solicitation of prostitution [292] abrogated by the law of 13 April 2016, which criminalized the clients of prostitution,[293] and at the same time removed racolage from the criminal code.[294] See § proxénétisme.
a warning; a reminder of the law as an alternative to prosecution.[66][261] In the case of a minor infraction, the § ministère public (Public Prosecutor) can order a reminder of the law. The aim is to make the offender aware that they committed an illegal act, in order to prevent them from reoffending.[123][295]
A previously convicted individual who commits, under certain conditions and within a certain period of time, a new offense that may result in a heavier sentence than usual.[123] A repeat offender.
A term with a great many meanings in French; the nominal meaning is "the set of rules or factors that characterize the way something functions or runs", and derives from French regimen which goes back to 1285 with the meaning of "the action of governing or administrating".[302][g] and in this sense is similar to the English regimen.
Usage:
Some examples are: régime matrimonial ("matrimonial regime"), régime parlementaire (parliamentary system), régime pénitentiaire ("prison system"; all the rules governing prison administration), régime de retraite ("pension plan"), régime de la sécurité sociale ("social security scheme"), and so on. When used to name a specific government or type of government, especially if there are negative connotations, English uses the cognate term: Régime de Vichy ("Vichy regime"), régime totalitaire ("totalitarian regime"), and similarly if the term is not translated: Ancien régime (English: "Ancien regime").
§ décret - issued by the Prime Minister or the President)[79]
§ arrêté - issued by the executive branch members other than the President or Prime Minister, such as ministers, regional prefects, or mayors[79][80]
Règlements are of a lower rank than a § loi, and may be annulled. But those règlements which fall into the domain defined by Article 37 of the Constitution are considered § règlements autonomes and not an adjunct to a particular loi.[304] A règlement is of the same nature as a loi (i.e., abstract, general, and impersonal), but is one level lower in the § hiérarchie des normes (hierarchy of norms).[305] Compare § loi, § ordonnance.
In other contexts: many other meanings, including "payment".
A measure which erases a criminal conviction. It ends all forfeitures or limitations on the exercise of individual rights resulting from the conviction. It is acquired either after the expiration of the time limits prescribed by law, or by a decision of the investigating chamber in response to a request made by the convicted person.[123]
The term French: droit répressif, lit. 'repressive law' is another term for criminal law. A {{Section link}}: required section parameter(s) missing is a court that deals with stopping ("repressing") criminal activity after it happens. Contrast with administrative law, tasked with preventing criminal activity, rather than cracking down on it. See also: § agent de répression, § service de répression.
Written or oral conclusions taken in the interest of society that the public prosecutor presents before the criminal court to justify the guilt of a defendant and the sentence requested. [123][309]
Usage note: Also used in forms of the verb requérir, such as requis: Le procureur a requis une peine de 1 an de prison avec sursis. ⟶ The prosecutor has requested a suspended sentence of 1 year in prison.[123]
Written arguments by which the § ministère public (public prosecutor) asks the judge to apply the criminal law to a defendant or an accused person under investigation (mise en examen).[123] See also § requete.
the scope or extent of a court's jurisdiction in terms of the geography and nature of the disputes assigned to it by law.[123] For example, the correctional court cannot try an offense committed outside its ressort and for which the perpetrator does not live in that region.[312]
A court decision is said to be "en dernier ressort" (final) if it can no longer be appealed.
the characteristic of a legal norm that regulates situations that arose before its adoption.
révision
An appeal against a conviction that allows a case to be retried in light of new facts or elements unknown at the time of the initial trial that could rule out the guilt of the convicted person.[123]
Submission of a request to a jurisdiction, requiring a response in the form of a decision. Can be formulated as a § citation, § requête, or declaration to a § greffe.[314] Example: reporting a § flagrant délit (crime in progress).
saisir
In non-legal context, saisir simply means: "seize", "grab", "grasp".
In legal context, there are many meanings, such as "confiscate", which are directly related to the non-legal sense; these are straightforward, and not explained here. However, there is one sense of saisir in legal context that occurs frequently and has no universally accepted single translation in English; the rest of this entry concerns this sense, corresponding to CNRTL sense II., A (law), 2.,[315] and concerns a request made by an individual to an authority like a judge or a court to do something;[315] or to refer a matter to a court.[303]
The general form for this sense is: Person + saisit + Authority + Of (de, d'un, d'une) + Request, with these four parts:
subject: someone (a person, plaintiff, etc.) or institution who is the requester, i.e., the one who applies to or requests something (optional)
form of verb saisir (required)
object: someone or something in authority who may grant or act on a request: the judge, the court, the tribunal, etc. (required)
the request, usually as a prep. phrase with de, pour, etc. (optional)
Annotated examples:
La mère saisit le juge d'une demande de garde concernant les quatre enfants.
The mother[subj] applies to[saisit] the court[obj] for custody of all four children[request].
Le parquet a saisi le juge d'instruction du premier cabinet pour qu'il instruise l'affaire et délivre un mandat de dépôt contre les inculpés.
The prosecutor[subj] instructed[saisit] the examining magistrate of the first chamber[obj] to investigate the case[request-1] and issue arrest warrants for the accused[request-2].
How to translate saisir depends a lot on context, and may use terms like "apply to", "take to", "go to", "bring before", "approach", "request", "refer to", "submit", or other expressions, and the word order in English may be different:
saisir le juge aux affaires familiales ⟶ refer the matter to the judge for family affairs
le droit constitutionnel de saisir le juge ⟶ the constitutional right to go to court
il était loisible de saisir le juge ⟶ it was possible to bring the case before the judge
saisir le Tribunal d'une ordonnance de cesser et de s'abstenir ⟶ bring a cease and desist order before the Court
Toute personne qui objecte à cette ordonnance peut saisir le tribunal. ⟶ Anyone who objects to the order has recourse to the court.
Le médiateur peut également saisir le Tribunal constitutionnel ⟶ The Ombudsman can also submit cases to the Constitutional Court.
Les travailleurs victimes de discrimination peuvent saisir le tribunal de travail ⟶ Workers who are victims of discrimination may apply to the Labor Tribunal.
In the passive, the pattern uses the participial form saisi and inverted word order, often with optional parts missing:
le juge saisi de l'affaire ⟶ (lit.) "the judge applied to/requested [by someone] regarding the case", or in more usual English word order: "the judge handling the case", "...on the case", or "...assigned to the case"
la décision du juge saisi de la requête ⟶ the judge for the motion
There is no exact translation for saisit (or in past participle form, saisi) in English, and how it appears in English translation is highly variable, and depends on the context (and the translator). Sometimes the best translation involves leaving the word out entirely. Also, the order of the elements is not always the same, and the request often comes before the authority-object.
ANF avait saisi le Juge d'Instruction de Marseille d'une plainte avec constitution de partie civile concernant des faits supposés par l'ancien fournisseur... ⟶ ANF[subj] had filed[saisir] a complaint[request] with the Marseilles investigating magistrate[obj] bringing civil action against alleged acts committed by the supplier...
The request can be omitted, so just the subject, verb saisir, and object are present. In the abstract, the subject may be omitted:
Saisir le tribunal; saisir la justice. ⟶ Going to[saisir] court[obj]; seeking[saisir] justice[obj]. Other translations include: bring legal proceedings, initiate a court case, file a case, go to court, refer [the case] to court.
Usage notes:
The form saisi des faits is often seen, and translation depends on context. The word faits means "facts", and depending on whether "saisi des faits" is a syntactic constituent in the sentence, the word "facts" may or may not appear in English translation. A literal translation of the passive construction might be: "[an authority] who had been applied to [by someone, unstated] with the facts [of an unstated (legal) request]"; but in free translation, this might come out simply as "[the judge] on the case", and may be expressed very differently in specific contexts. Some examples:[316]
La cause peut alors être entendue par un tribunal de compétence provinciale, qui est saisi des faits par un procureur de la Couronne.
⟶ The case would then proceed within the provincial jurisdiction to a crown attorney, who takes the facts to court.
En d'autres termes, [il] doit être saisi et considérer des faits nouveaux ou contestés pour confirmer une décision effective au client.
⟶ In other words, [he] must be involved and must consider new or contested facts in order to confirm an actual ruling to the client. Note: not a syntactic constituent; must use the word facts here.
il se peut qu'il en arriverait à une conclusion différente s'il était saisi des mêmes faits aujourd'hui.
⟶ if the same facts were before it today, with that Code available to it as an adjudicative tool, it might arrive at a different conclusion. Not a constituent.
Le procureur européen, informé ou saisi de l'ensemble des faits, ne poursuivrait alors qu'au titre de l'infraction communautaire...
⟶ The European Public Prosecutor, receiving information or a referral, would prosecute only the Community offence...
A "reparation sanction": is an alternative sentence which obliges the perpetrator to repair the damage caused to the victim through financial compensation or reparation in kind.[317]
1. an order that evidence be placed under seal. Also refers to the practice of a wax seal to an item.[314]
Usage notes: in legal terminology, almost always plural. In the singular, it refers to the sealing material itself, such as wax.
placé sous scellé ⟶ placed under seal
2. The part of the § greffe (judicial registry) where evidence is stored.[314]
3. Other meanings apply in civil law, having to do with sealing off buildings, rooms, etc. Breaking such a seal duly placed by civil authorities is punishable under criminal law.[314]
work release; day parole; lit: 'semi-freedom'. A criminal sanctions program that authorizes a convicted person to carry out activity outside the prison, which may be professional activity, training, internship, or medical treatment. At the end of each day, the convict returns to the detention center.[314][318] See also: § centre de semi-liberté.
An act by which a party brings to the attention of his adversary an act or a decision of justice by means of a § huissier de justice (judicial officer).[314]
A citizenship workshop. An alternative sentence for someone convicted of a § délit (middle-level offense) which provides for completing a citizenship workshop, in lieu of prison time. Other laws introduced from 2004 to 2021 introduced training workshops in other domains; collectively these became known as a § peine de stage (workshop sentence). Introduced as part of the law 2004-204 of 9 March 2004, better known as the § loi Perben II.[260][261]
stage de formation civique
A civic education training workshop is an educational measure aimed at reminding minors of the obligations resulting from the law, as well as making them aware of civil and criminal responsibilities and the duties involved in living in society. The minor is reminded of all these notions during short group training sessions relating to social organization or civic values for a duration not to exceed 30 hours.[314]
Socio-judicial supervision is a measure pronounced by the § tribunal correctionnel (criminal court) or the § cour d'assizes against the perpetrator of a § crime or § délit (major or serious offense) of a sexual nature.[314][319] This measure allows for judicial and optionally also medical follow-up after the prison sentence has been served. It forces the convicted person to submit, under the supervision of the § juge de l'application des peines to measures of surveillance and assistance as well as to certain obligations, such as the prohibition on going to certain places, or to be around minors.[314][320][176][175][176] Failure to comply is grounds for reimprisonment.[314][321] May also be a stand-alone sentence. No universally recognized term in English; some terms seen are: socio-judicial surveillance, socio-judicial supervision, or probation.[322][321] See also: § peine alternative.
an intermediate witness status, between that of a simple § témoin (witness) and someone § mis en examen (criminally charged); introduced in 1987, later included in the § loi sur la présomption d'innocence. This is a person who is listed as a witness, but at the same time is named either in the § réquisitoire introductif or in the initial complaint by the victim. Because of their status as a possible suspect, the law requires them to be heard only in presence of their lawyer.[325][326]
A person who is the subject of a complaint, accused or prosecuted by the § Parquet (Public Prosecutor's Office), against whom there are some clues (insufficient for an indictment) that make it likely that he or she has committed a crime or an offense. His lawyer has access to the case file. When heard by the investigating judge, the assisted witness may ask to be confronted with the person or persons implicating him. If the judge considers that the witness should be placed under judicial supervision or in pre-trial detention, or be referred to the criminal court or the assize court to be tried, he or she will then proceed with the examination.[324]
témoin instrumentaire
a legal witness; a witness required for the official recording of certain transactions.[327]
A § crime or § délit interrupted in act by an event beyond the control of its perpetrator. The attempt is punishable by the same penalties as if the offense had been fully carried out.[328]
community service;[124] carrying out unpaid work, within a specified time, for the benefit of a public body or an approved association, as part of a sentence by an adult or juvenile court.[277] One of several alternative penalties that are sometimes ordered instead of incarceration.[317]
a court of first instance, responsible for judging § délits (major offenses). If necessary, it rules on the request for compensation made by the victim (called the § partie civile (civil party))[124][324]
A high jurisdiction made up equally of magistrates from the § ordre administratifand § ordre judiciaire (administrative and judicial orders), whose mission is to resolve conflicts of jurisdiction between the courts of the judicial order and those of the administrative order. For example: these two orders claim to be simultaneously competent or incompetent for the same case.[324]
A solemn declaration by which the magistrates and § juré (jurors) of the § cour d'assises answer the question of the guilt of a defendant, and set the sentence, if any. The verdict can be an § acquittement (acquittal), or a § condamnation (guilty verdict).[275]
rape;[331] In the classic sense, rape consists in the fact of a man having a carnal relationship with a non-consenting woman, or in circumstances where she cannot manifest her § volonté (will).[332]
violation
breach;[331] violation. In the former sense, compare § effraction. In the latter sense, can be a synonym for § infraction (offense).
will; [331] In criminal law, volonté (will) is a firm and definite determination in a person's mind to do something that will have an effect in the outside world. The term § intention indicates the purpose for which the will is directed.[335]
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrsThis headword has a significant likelihood of being mistranslated when using automatic translation. Machine translation can have difficulty with individual words or expressions for many reasons, including false friends, false cognates, literal translation, neologisms, slang, idiomatic expressions and other unrecognized compounds, words with multiple meanings, words with specialized meanings in certain knowledge domains different from a common meaning of a word in a more general context, and other reasons. These issues can be difficult for human translators as well. In addition, some expressions in French criminal law, criminology, or government have no exact equivalent in English, because the legal, penal, and governmental systems are so different. In some cases, no brief translated expression in English is possible, as it would either be opaque, or misleading.
^The term action publique is translated in various ways in English sources, depending on context. The literal, word-for-word translation is "public action", which if used, is used with an explanation, as it has little meaning in English, outside the literal translation of this concept of French law. What the term action publique actually refers to is "criminal proceedings", or "public prosecution", which itself can be confusing unless one understands that it is the public prosecutor (procureur) who is responsible for prosecutions carried out on behalf of society, and thus the term procureur is generally rendered in English as "public prosecutor", or generically as the "public prosecutor's office". An equivalent term for procureur is § ministère public, rendered in English sources sometimes as "Public ministry" and sometimes left in the original French.
^There is no agreement in English sources about how to refer to délit in English. The tripartite division of infractions in French law does not line up well with concepts in common law, and translations of délit into English vary. For further details, see French criminal law.
^ abcImprisonment – Three terms in French with very similar meanings all translate to imprisonment in English: § emprisonnement, § réclusion and § détention. The word emprisonnement is a generic term, and means the same as its cognate in English in the normal sense, that is, to be deprived of one's liberty by being held in a prison. The other two words have specific meanings defined in the penal code which are nearly identical: both réclusion and détention mean to be imprisoned for a fixed term of at least ten and at most thirty years (more than that, and it's called § réclusion a perpétuité because there is no fixed prison term exceeding 30 years). The difference between the two is not the sentence, but the crime involved: if you are convicted of a political crime, the sentence is called § détention criminelle, and if for any other type of infraction other than a political crime, it's called § réclusion criminelle, even if the two sentences are otherwise identical.
^There is no general agreement among English sources about how to represent this term in English. At least one source (adjacent) uses this term.
^French legal language and expression tends to be a lot more abstract than usage in common law, including widespread use of metonymy and synecdoche. Examples include terms like § le juge, which may refer to all courts in general, or le législateur, which may mean the law-making body more generally. While one becomes familiar with some usage in time after reading French jurisprudence and other legal texts, sometimes this type of language may leave the intended meaning unclear to all but experts in French law. Where a French text refers to "le juge des saisies", even after carefully studying the context, it might mean: a) all courts which have the right to rule on questions of distraint of property; b) one particular court having this power; c) all courts which have the specific power to order distraints; or d) one such court. This type of abstract use of language can be problematic when reading French jurisprudence.[188]
^Definition II of régime: Façon de régir; ensemble de règles, de facteurs qui caractérisent le fonctionnement, le cours de quelque chose.CNRTL 2012, régime
Dadomo, Christian; Farran, Susan (1996) [1st pub. 1993]. The French legal system (2nd ed.). London: Sweet & Maxwell. ISBN0-421-53970-4.
"Action publique - Fiches d'orientation" [Action publique - Fact sheets]. Dalloz (in French). Paris: Editions Dalloz. Retrieved 5 March 2023. L'action publique est l'action en justice portée devant une juridiction répressive pour l'application des peines à l'auteur d'une infraction. Même si elle peut être mise en mouvement par la partie civile, elle est toujours exercée par les magistrats ou par les fonctionnaires auxquels elle est confiée par la loi. [Action publique is the legal action brought before a criminal court for the application of penalties to the perpetrator of an offense. It may also be initiated by a civil party to a criminal case, but it is always exercised by the magistrates or by the civil servants to whom it is entrusted by law.]
"Peines - Fiches d'orientation" [Penalties - Fact sheets]. Dalloz (in French). Paris: Editions Dalloz. September 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
"Principe à valeur constitutionnelle - Fiches d'orientation" [Principle of constitutional force - Fact sheets]. Dalloz (in French). Paris: Editions Dalloz. May 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2023. Un principe à valeur constitutionnelle est un principe dégagé par le Conseil constitutionnel et dont le respect s'impose au législateur comme aux autres organes de l'État. Il est une norme juridique à part entière. [A principle of constitutional force is a principle identified by the Constitutional Council, the respect of which is binding on the legislator as well as on the other organs of the State. It is a legal norm in its own right.]
"Application de la loi pénale dans le temps | Fiches d'orientation" [Application of the law in time | Fact sheet]. Dalloz (in French). Paris: Editions Dalloz. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021. La question de l'application de la loi pénale dans le temps se pose dès lors que des faits ont été commis et n'ont pas encore été définitivement jugés lors de l'entrée en vigueur d'une loi nouvelle. [The question of the application of criminal law with respect to time arises when acts have been committed and have not yet been finally judged when a new law comes into force.]
Garé, Thierry; Ginestet, Catherine (September 2022). Droit pénal. Procédure pénale 2023 [Criminal law. criminal procedure 2023]. HyperCours (in French) (14 ed.). Paris: Editions Dalloz. ISBN978-2-247-22075-5. OCLC1346591522. Retrieved 10 September 2023. p. pub. blurb: Le droit pénal général étudie les principes généraux de la répression des infractions, la responsabilité et la peine. La procédure pénale régit le déroulement du procès pénal. Ces droits doivent assurer à la société une protection suffisante, sans sacrifier les libertés individuelles. [General criminal law deals with the general principles of punishment, liability and sentencing. Criminal procedure governs the conduct of criminal trials.]
Jacopin, Sylvain (2021). "Fiche 1. La définition légale de l'infraction" [Sheet 1. The legal definition of an offense]. In Jacopin, Sylvain (ed.). Droit pénal général [General criminal law]. Tout-en-un droit (in French). Paris: Ellipses. pp. 59–109. ISBN978-2-340-05703-6. OCLC1269458347.
French Ministry of Justice (9 December 2008). "Justice | Portail | La garde à vue" [Justice | Portal | Police custody]. Ministère de la Justice (in French). [Police custody is the situation in which a person, suspected of having committed or attempted to commit an offense punishable by imprisonment, is held by the police or gendarmerie as part of a judicial investigation. It is a measure that deprives a person of liberty for a strictly limited period of time.]
French Ministry of Justice (15 September 2021). "L'organisation de la justice en France" [Organization of justice in France]. Ministère de la Justice (in French). Les juridictions françaises se répartissent en deux ordres : un ordre judiciaire et un ordre administratif. Les juridictions de l'ordre judiciaire sont compétentes pour régler les litiges opposant les personnes privées et pour sanctionner les auteurs d'infractions aux lois pénales. ... Les juridictions de l'ordre administratif sont compétentes dès qu'une personne publique est en cause (une municipalité ou un service de l'État par exemple). [The French courts are divided into two orders: a judicial order and an administrative order. The courts of the judicial order are responsible for settling disputes between private individuals and for punishing the perpetrators of criminal offenses. ... The administrative courts have jurisdiction as soon as a public entity is involved (a municipality or a government department for example).]
Merle, Roger; Vitu, André (1984). Traité de droit criminel. Vol. 1 (5 ed.). Paris: Cujas. no. 146. ISBN9788792002754. OCLC263103447. l'ensemble des régles juridiques qui organisent la réaction de l'État vis-a-vis des infractions et des délinquants [the set of legal rules that govern the State's response to offenses and offenders]
Jallamion, Carine (9 July 2020). "La « traduction » du droit français aux colonies : du vocabulaire juridique à l'entreprise de colonisation" [The 'translation”' of French law in the colonies: from legal vocabulary to the enterprise of colonization]. In Bassano, Marie; Mastor, Wanda (eds.). Justement traduire : Les enjeux de la traduction juridique (histoire du droit, droit comparé) [The challenges of legal translation (legal history, comparative law)]. Actes de colloques de l'IFR (in French). Toulouse: Presses de l’Université Toulouse Capitole. pp. 199–222. doi:10.4000/books.putc.7632. ISBN978-2-37928-080-1.
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