Section 12: Appeals against orders of the investigating judge or the liberty and custody judge

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Article 187-3

French Code of Criminal ProcedureIn force
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Updated 8 Nov 2023

In the case provided for in the second paragraph of article 148-1-1, the public prosecutor who appeals against an order for release that is contrary to his or her recommendations within four hours of being notified of the order must, on pain of inadmissibility, at the same time apply to the first president of the court of appeal or, if he or she is unable to do so, to the magistrate who replaces him or her, for an interim order of detention in order to declare this appeal suspensive. The public prosecutor attaches to the request the written observations justifying the continued detention of the person. The person under investigation and his lawyer may also submit any written observations they consider useful.

The first president of the court of appeal or the magistrate who replaces him or her rules at the latest on the second working day following the request. During this period, the effects of the release order are suspended and the person remains in custody. If the first president of the court of appeal or the magistrate who replaces him or her fails to rule within this period, the person is released, unless he or she is detained for another reason.

The first president of the court of appeal or the judge who replaces him or her shall decide, in the light of the evidence in the case file, by means of a reasoned order that is not subject to appeal. At his or her request, the accused person's lawyer may make oral submissions to this magistrate at a chambers hearing, of which the public prosecutor is notified so that he or she can make his or her submissions, if any.

If the first president of the court of appeal or the judge who replaces him or her considers that the continued detention of the person is manifestly necessary in view of at least two of the criteria set out in the provisions of Article

144

until the investigating chamber rules on the public prosecutor's appeal, it shall order the suspension of the effects of the release order until that date. The person under investigation may then not be released until the hearing of the investigating chamber before which his personal appearance is a matter of right; the investigating chamber must rule as soon as possible and at the latest within ten days of the appeal, failing which the person is automatically released if he is not detained for another reason.

If this is not the case, the first president of the court of appeal or the magistrate who replaces him orders that the person be released if he is not detained for another reason.

On pain of nullity, the magistrate who ruled on the application for summary detention may not be part of the composition of the investigating chamber that will rule on the public prosecutor's appeal.

The transmission of the file of the proceedings to the first president of the court of appeal or to the magistrate who replaces him may be carried out by fax.

Mariela Petrova

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A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

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Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

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15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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