French Code of Criminal Procedure
In forceIn the interests of the proper administration of justice, audiovisual means of telecommunication may be used in the course of criminal proceedings, if the magistrate in charge of the proceedings or the president of the court hearing the case considers it justified, in the cases and in accordance with the procedures provided for in this article.
Where justified by the requirements of the investigation or enquiry, the hearing or questioning of a person and the confrontation between several persons may be carried out at several points within the territory of the Republic or between the territory of the Republic and that of a Member State of the European Union in the context of the execution of a European investigation decision and which are linked by telecommunications means guaranteeing the confidentiality of the transmission. Under the same conditions, presentation for the purposes of extending police custody or judicial detention may be carried out using audiovisual telecommunications. Minutes are drawn up of the operations carried out. These operations may be the subject of an audiovisual or sound recording, in which case the provisions of the third to eighth paragraphs of Article 706-52 shall apply.
The provisions of the previous paragraph providing for the use of an audiovisual means of telecommunication are applicable before the trial court for the hearing of witnesses, civil parties and experts. They are also applicable, with the agreement of the public prosecutor and all the parties, for the appearance of the accused before the criminal court if the latter is in custody.
These provisions also apply to the hearing or questioning by an investigating judge of a detained person, to the adversarial debate prior to the placement in pre-trial detention of a person detained for another reason, to the adversarial debate provided for the extension of pre-trial detention, including the hearing provided for in the penultimate paragraph of Article 179, hearings relating to disputes concerning pre-trial detention before the investigating chamber or the trial court, the examination of the accused by the president of the assize court pursuant to article 272, the appearance of a person at a hearing during which a judgment or ruling is handed down that had been reserved or during which a ruling is made on civil interests only, the questioning by the public prosecutor or the public prosecutor of a person arrested under a warrant for arrest, an arrest warrant, a European arrest warrant, a request for provisional arrest, a request for extradition or a request for arrest for the purpose of surrender, to the presentation to the juge des libertés et de la détention, the first president of the court of appeal or the magistrate designated by him pursuant to the articles 627-5,695-28,696-11and 696-23 if the person is detained for another reason, or at the questioning of the accused before the police court if the accused is detained for another reason. In the case of a hearing at which a decision is to be taken on remand in custody or the extension of remand in custody, the detainee may, when informed of the date of the hearing and the fact that recourse to this means is envisaged, refuse the use of an audiovisual means of telecommunication, unless its transport appears to have to be avoided due to the serious risks of disturbing public order or escape ; the same applies when an appeal against a decision to refuse release or a direct referral to the Investigating Chamber pursuant to the last paragraph of Article 148 or Article 148-4 is to be decided by a person who has been detained in a criminal case for more than six months, whose detention has not already been the subject of an extension decision and who has not personally appeared, without using a means of audiovisual communication, before the Investigating Chamber for at least six months.
They are likewise applicable before the Commission d'indemnisation des victimes d'infractions, before the First President of the Court of Appeal ruling on applications for compensation for pre-trial detention, before the Commission nationale de réparation des détentions, before the Commission d'instruction des demandes en révision et en réexamen and before the Cour de révision et de réexamen.
For the application of the provisions of the previous paragraphs, if the person is assisted by a lawyer or an interpreter, these may be with the competent magistrate, court or commission or with the person concerned. In the first case, the lawyer must be able to talk to the person concerned in confidence, using audiovisual telecommunications. In the second case, a copy of the entire file must be made available to the lawyer on the detention premises, unless a copy of the file has already been given to the lawyer. If these provisions apply during a hearing, the hearing must be held under conditions that guarantee the person's right to present his observations himself.
When a person is detained, notification of an expert opinion by a court must be made by the use of audiovisual telecommunication, unless a reasoned decision to the contrary is given or if another act is to be carried out at the same time.
In the event of necessity, resulting from the impossibility for an interpreter to travel, the interpreter's assistance during a hearing, questioning or confrontation may also be provided by means of telecommunications.
A decree in the Conseil d'Etat shall specify, as necessary, the procedures for applying this article.
