A criminal proceeding in French law () is one carried out in the name of society against a person accused of a by applying the

French penal code The French criminal code () is the Codification (law), codification of French criminal law (). It took effect March 1, 1994 and replaced the French Penal Code of 1810, which had until then been in effect. This in turn has become known as the "old ...

. It is taken in the name of society, in that its goal is to stop disruption of public order, and not to abate done to a specific person, which is governed by

French civil law French law has a dual jurisdictional system comprising private law (), also known as judicial law, and public law (). Judicial law includes, in particular: * () * Criminal law () Public law includes, in particular: * Administrative law ( ...

. The proceeding is undertaken by the

Public Prosecutor's Office Public prosecutor's offices are criminal justice bodies attached to the judiciary. They are separate from the courts in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland, and are called the Staatsanwaltschaft (). This kind of offi ...

(), against perpetrators or accomplices accused of an . The term ''action publique'' is defined in Article 1 of the

code of criminal procedure Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail or ...

Terminology

The term is translated in various ways in English sources, depending on context. The literal, word-for-word translation is "public action", which is used sometimes in English texts, always with an explanation, as it has little meaning outside the context of French law. What the term actually refers to is "criminal proceedings", or "public prosecution". The term ''public'' in this expression is used in the same sense as in the public prosecutor () who is responsible for prosecutions carried out on behalf of society (i.e., the public), and thus the term is generally rendered in English as "public prosecutor", or generically as the "

public prosecutor's office Public prosecutor's offices are criminal justice bodies attached to the judiciary. They are separate from the courts in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland, and are called the Staatsanwaltschaft (). This kind of offi ...

". Equivalent terms for are , as well as , rendered in English sources sometimes as "Public ministry", and sometimes left in the original French.

Initiation of criminal proceedings

Initiating a criminal proceeding () is the follow-up to the commission an offense by introducing it into the jurisdictional phase of criminal proceedings. The entity responsible for initiating a criminal proceeding in France is usually the

(), a hierarchical corps of magistrates charged with carrying out the prosecutions. Alongside them, other civil servants are, for certain infractions, empowered to begin other proceedings, notably for

indirect taxes An indirect tax (such as a sales tax, per unit tax, value-added tax (VAT), excise tax, consumption tax, or tariff) is a tax that is levied upon goods and services before they reach the customer who ultimately pays the indirect tax as a part of ma ...

, and for the

Corps of Bridges, Waters and Forests The ''Corps des Ingénieurs des Ponts, des Eaux et des Forêts'' (, in English "Corps of the Engineers of Bridges, Waters and Forests") is a technical Grand Corps of the French State ( grand corps de l'État). Its members, called ''ingénieurs des ...

. The victim of a crime may also initiate the proceeding. The object of the prosecution, is the accused perpetrator of the infraction, against whom the criminal proceeding is brought. The defendants are the accused perpetrators and accomplices of the . They must be identifiable, although not necessarily identified, for the criminal proceeding to begin. The public prosecutor receives complaints and decides how to proceed. After receiving a complaint, they may decide to prosecute, or to resort to an alternative procedure, such a warning, referral to a professional health or social structure, reparation of the damage, or other alternatives, or may decide not to prosecute. If prosecution moves forward, the victim or complainant is informed, and in criminal matters the prosecutor requests the opening of an investigation ( by means of an opening indictment () against a named person (or against a John Doe defendant: ,) stating the facts that are the subject of the prosecution and the penal code item that applies to it. The prosecutor may either refer the case to the investigating court by way of an introductory indictment (), or refer it directly to the trial court by direct summons ( or other method. For non-criminal offenses such as traffic violations, the prosecutor can use the simplified procedure. For middling offenses punishable by a fine or less than five years imprisonment, the prosecutor may use the CRPC procedure, and for minor offenses, the prosecutor can opt either to initiate an investigation as for other offenses, or to issue a warning or a direct summons ().

References

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Works cited

French criminal law {{France-law-stub