French Code of Criminal Procedure
In forceWhere the court or the court of appeal rules by judgment or ruling separate from the judgment on the merits, the appeal in cassation is immediately admissible if this decision puts an end to the proceedings. If the President of the Criminal Division finds that a decision has been wrongly considered by the interested party as putting an end to the proceedings, he shall assess whether the appeal should nevertheless be entertained in the interests of public policy or the proper administration of justice, or whether, on the contrary, it should not be entertained, and shall make an order of his own motion to that effect admitting or not admitting the appeal.
If the decision has not terminated the proceedings and until the time limits for appeal have expired, the judgment is not enforceable and the court of appeal cannot rule on the merits.
If no appeal has been lodged or if, before expiry of the time limit for lodging an appeal, the appellant has not filed at the registry the application provided for in the following paragraph, the judgment or ruling shall be enforceable and the court or court of appeal shall rule on the merits. The same shall apply, notwithstanding the provisions of the following paragraph, in the case of a judgment handed down either on appeal from an order of the investigating judge pursuant to the articles 81, ninth paragraph, 82-1, second paragraph, 156, second paragraph, or 167, penultimate paragraph, or because of the investigating judge's failure to have made such an order. In such cases, if the proceedings have nevertheless been referred to the Cour de cassation, the President of the Criminal Division shall order that they be returned to the court seised.
The applicant for judicial review may lodge at the registry, before the expiry of the time limits for appeal, an application addressed to the President of the Criminal Division of the Cour de cassation for his appeal to be declared immediately admissible.
