Paragraph 2: Enforcement procedure

Articles in this section · 4

695-26695-27695-28695-28-1

Article 695-27

French Code of Criminal ProcedureIn force
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Updated 7 Nov 2023

Any person apprehended in execution of a European arrest warrant must be brought before the territorially competent public prosecutor within forty-eight hours. During this period, the provisions of Articles 63-1 to 63-7 shall apply.

After verifying the identity of that person, the Public Prosecutor shall inform him, in a language he understands, of the existence and content of the European arrest warrant against him. He shall also inform the person that he may be assisted by a lawyer of his choice or, failing that, by a lawyer appointed by the President of the Bar Association, who shall be informed immediately and by any means. He shall likewise notify her that she may confer immediately with the appointed lawyer.

The Public Prosecutor shall also inform the person that he may request to be assisted in the issuing Member State of the warrant by a lawyer of his choice or by a court-appointed lawyer; if the person so requests, the request shall be immediately forwarded to the competent judicial authority of the issuing Member State.

Note of this information shall be made, on pain of nullity of the procedure, in the minutes.

The lawyer appointed pursuant to the second paragraph may consult the file immediately and communicate freely with the requested person.

The Public Prosecutor shall then inform the requested person of his or her option to consent to or oppose his or her surrender to the judicial authority of the issuing Member State and of the legal consequences resulting from such consent. It shall also inform him that he may waive the rule of speciality and of the legal consequences of such waiver.

Where the European arrest warrant has been issued for the purpose of executing a custodial sentence or detention order and the person is in the case provided for in 4° of article 695-22-1 and has not been informed in the legally prescribed manner of the existence of the criminal proceedings that led to the conviction, he or she may request to receive a copy of the conviction before it is handed over. The Public Prosecutor shall inform the competent authority of the issuing Member State of such a request. As soon as that authority has sent him a copy of the decision, the Public Prosecutor shall forward it to the person concerned. This communication shall be for information purposes. It shall not be deemed to constitute service of the decision and shall not give rise to any time limit for lodging an appeal.

Mariela Petrova

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Working with a corporate lawyer in France — Q&A

Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

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.

Yes — most of our clients are foreign suppliers, investors or holding entities. We bridge the gap between French law and your home jurisdiction's expectations and deliver everything bilingually.

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

Yes — communications with a French avocat are protected by the secret professionnel (Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971). This protection is broader than the common-law attorney-client privilege and applies to written and oral exchanges.

We work on fixed fees for clearly scoped engagements (incorporation, contract drafting, audits) and on monthly retainers for ongoing advisory. Hourly billing is the exception, not the default. You always know the cost before work starts.

Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

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