By definition, an accomplice is not the person who commits the offence. However, the Criminal Code provides that an accomplice is subject to the same penalties as those incurred by the principal offender.
Thus, whether a person is the principal offender or an accomplice has no impact on the penalties incurred.
To be recognized as an accomplice under French law, three elements are required.
By definition, an accomplice is not the person who commits the offence. However, the Criminal Code provides that an accomplice is subject to the same penalties as those incurred by the principal offender.
Thus, whether a person is the principal offender or an accomplice has no impact on the penalties incurred.
To be recognized as an accomplice under French law, three elements are required.
The European Arrest Warrant is a judicial decision issued by a Member State of the European Union (the issuing Member State) for the arrest and surrender by another Member State (the executing Member State) of a person sought for the purpose of criminal prosecution or the execution of a custodial sentence or detention order.
Extradition is the procedure by which a State, the requested State, agrees to surrender a person located on its territory to another State, the requesting State, which seeks to prosecute them for the commission of an offense, or to enforce a sentence already passed for the commission of an offense.
At the end of police custody, the Public Prosecutor may take several decisions, in accordance with Article 40-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Each of these decisions has significant legal consequences for the person concerned.
Police custody is a coercive measure -a deprivation of liberty- imposed to keep a person suspected of having committed an offence at the disposal of police officers.
Police custody is carried out by a Officer of the judicial police (“OPJ”), who immediately informs the public prosecutor, when certain conditions are met.
The person in police custody has several rights.
Rape, defined and punished by articles 222-23 et seq. of the French Criminal Code, is a crime defined as “any act of sexual penetration, of any nature, or any oral-genital act committed on another person or on the perpetrator by violence, coercion, threat or surprise”.
Rape is punishable by 15 years’ imprisonment, or 20 years if there are aggravating circumstances.
Any person with legal capacity who considers themselves the victim of an offense can file a complaint. The complaint is not subject to any conditions, but in order for it to be effective, it may be useful to include certain information.
Sexual assault, as defined by Article 222-22 of the Criminal Code, is an offence described as “any sexual act committed with violence, coercion, threat or surprise, or, in cases provided by law, committed by an adult against a minor.”
This offence differs from rape in that it does not involve sexual penetration.
Sexual assault is punishable by five years’ imprisonment and a fine of €75,000, excluding aggravating circumstances.
Individuals for whom there is no plausible reason to suspect that they have committed or attempted to commit an offence are interviewed by investigators without being subject to any coercive measure.
These individuals are then given the status of witnesses: they are not suspected of having committed an offence, and the police simply seek to obtain their testimony.