Private Prosecution - France

France

There are three types of criminal offences in France :

• Felonies, punishable by up to imprisonment for life ;
• Misdemeanours, punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment ;
• Petty offences, punishable by criminal fine up to 3 000 €.

In France private prosecution is called citation directe, and is possible only for misdemeanours and petty offences, if the victim has evidences of the offence.

The court sits with either one or three judges, without jury (jury is available only for felonies, see cour d'assises).

In court, the private prosecutor sits alongside with the public prosecutor as an accessory, and is merely called the "plaintiff" (partie civile). Trials take place in this way even when the prosecution was initiated by the public prosecution office (it is far more usual than a private prosecution).

The plaintiff and the accused are both represented by normal lawyers, sitting at the ground-level of the courtroom, while the public prosecutor, considered by French law as a magistrate, sits on a platform as the court, although he doesn't participate in deliberation.

The public prosecutor gives the court his opinion about the case after the plaintiff and before the defence. Eventually, the defendant may be convicted even if the public prosecutor requested acquittal.

In France, appeal courts retry facts of law. The accused may appeal a conviction and sentence, but the plaintiff can only appeal damages, he cannot appeal an acquittal nor a too lenient criminal punishment, contrary to the public prosecutor, who can do that even if the prosecution was private.

For felonies or when the plaintiff has insufficient evidence, he may refer to an investigating judge (juge d'instruction) who will investigate the case, and refer it to the trial court (in which he don't sit) if he discovers sufficient evidence of guilt. The investigating judge is independent from the public prosecutor's office, and may refer the case to the trial court even if the public prosecutor requested a nonsuit.

If the defendant is convicted, he can be sentenced to pay damages to the plaintiff for the criminal offence, and to reimburse his legal costs, in addition to the criminal punishment. But if the private prosecution or the referral to the investigating judge is regarded as abusive, the plaintiff may be sentenced to pay damages to accused and a civil fine to the state.