Subtitle III: Victims' rights

Officers and agents of the judicial police or, under their supervision, investigation assistants shall inform victims by any means of their right:

1° To obtain reparation for their harm, by means of compensation for it or by any other suitable means, including, if appropriate, a restorative justice measure;

2° To be a civil party either in the context of the initiation of public proceedings by the public prosecutor, or by means of a direct summons of the perpetrator to appear before the competent court or a complaint brought before the investigating judge ;

3° To be, if they wish to bring a civil action, assisted by a lawyer whom they may choose or who, at their request, is appointed by the President of the Bar Association of the competent court, the costs being borne by the victims unless they meet the conditions for access to legal aid or if they benefit from legal protection insurance ;

4° To be assisted by a service under the authority of one or more public authorities or by an approved victim support association under conditions defined by decree;

5° To refer the matter, where appropriate, to the Commission d'indemnisation des victimes d'infraction (Crime Victims Compensation Commission), where the offence is one of the offences referred to in Articles 706-3 or 706-14 of this code;

6° To be informed of the protection measures available to them, in particular the protection orders provided for in Title XIV of Book I of the Civil Code. Victims are also informed of the penalties incurred by the perpetrators of violence and the conditions for enforcing any sentences that may be handed down;

7° For victims who do not understand the French language, to have an interpreter and a translation of the information essential to the exercise of their rights ;

8° To each be accompanied, at their request, at all stages of the proceedings, by their legal representative and by the adult of their choice, including a lawyer, unless a reasoned decision to the contrary is taken by the competent judicial authority;

9° To declare a third party's address as their domicile, subject to the third party's express agreement. However, when the victim is a person holding public authority or entrusted with a public service mission and the offence was committed because of his or her functions or mission, he or she is informed that he or she may declare, without this agreement, his or her professional address.

10° In the case of victims of violence for whom a medical examination has been requested by a judicial police officer or magistrate, to be given the medical examination certificate stating their state of health.