{"id":2241,"date":"2025-11-18T20:26:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T19:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/?p=2241"},"modified":"2025-11-18T20:28:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T19:28:29","slug":"la-complicite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/2025\/11\/18\/la-complicite\/","title":{"rendered":"Complicity"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-cover alignfull has-small-font-size\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0;min-height:380px;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1441\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-1637\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/dmitrij-paskevic-YjVa-F9P9kk-unsplash-scaled.jpg\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/dmitrij-paskevic-YjVa-F9P9kk-unsplash-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/dmitrij-paskevic-YjVa-F9P9kk-unsplash-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/dmitrij-paskevic-YjVa-F9P9kk-unsplash-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/dmitrij-paskevic-YjVa-F9P9kk-unsplash-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/dmitrij-paskevic-YjVa-F9P9kk-unsplash-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/dmitrij-paskevic-YjVa-F9P9kk-unsplash-2048x1153.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-ast-global-color-1-background-color has-background-dim-20 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-cover-is-layout-flow\">\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-white-color has-text-color\" style=\"font-size:65px\">Complicity<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\"><br><br>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thus, whether a person is the principal offender or an accomplice has no impact on the penalties incurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To be recognized as an accomplice under French law, three elements are required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A punishable principal offence<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The punishable principal offence may be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A felony, a misdemeanour, or a petty offence\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Exception: complicity through aid or assistance can only apply to a felony or a misdemeanour<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The offence may be completed or attempted; intentional or unintentional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The act must be punishable, but not necessarily punished. Therefore, there can be no complicity when:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There is a legal justification for the principal offender\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The principal offender benefits from an immunity that prevents prosecution\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The limitation period has expired<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is an amnesty<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, it does not matter whether the principal offender was actually punished or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The material act of complicity\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(1) Complicity through aid or assistance&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\">According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000006417212\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000006417212\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Article 121-7, paragraph 1 of the French Criminal Code<\/a>, \u201c<em>a person is an accomplice to a felony or misdemeanour when, knowingly, by aid or assistance, they have facilitated its preparation or commission<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A material or moral act is therefore required, meaning, in principle, a positive act and not a mere omission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By exception, omission may constitute aid or assistance if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This omission amounts to encouragement, for example when the person who fails to act has moral authority over the offender, provided that this person is present at the scene;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This omission is committed by a person who has a legal duty to act, particularly due to their profession;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol style=\"list-style-type:lower-roman\" class=\"wp-block-list\"><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is not necessary for the aid or assistance to have been indispensable. It is also not necessary for it to have been materially useful; it is sufficient that the aid or assistance strengthened the offender\u2019s resolve or supported their decision to act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, the aid or assistance must take place before or during the offence. Acts occurring after the offence are only punishable if there was a prior agreement, or if they reveal a prior act constituting complicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(2) Complicity by instigation (provocation or provision of instructions)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\">According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000006417212\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000006417212\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Article 121-7, paragraph 2 of the French Criminal Code<\/a>, \u201c<em>a person is also an accomplice if, by gift, promise, threat, order, abuse of authority or power, they have provoked the commission of an offence or given instructions to commit it<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Provocation is the act of influencing the offender\u2019s will to the point of determining them to commit the offence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The provocation must be specific (using means, so-called supporting elements), definite, direct, personal, and in principle followed by the principal punishable offence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The provision of instructions does not need to be detailed, but it must be sufficiently precise and personal, even though it can be conveyed through a third party: it consists in providing the information necessary to commit the offence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"3\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The mental element (mens rea)\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Regarding the mental element, negligence is not sufficient; it is necessary to have (i) knowledge of the planned criminal act and (ii) awareness of associating oneself with that act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Penalties\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\">According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000006417211\/2025-11-18\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000006417211\/2025-11-18\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Article 121-6 of the French Criminal Code<\/a>, the accomplice is punished as the principal offender. They are therefore, in principle, liable to the same penalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The accomplice is considered as a perpetrator, but not as the principal offender. This means that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Les circonstances personnelles (propres \u00e0 l\u2019auteur) ne s\u2019\u00e9tendent pas au complice (<em>ex. absence de discernement du mineur ou d\u2019un handicap\u00e9 mental auteur<\/em>)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Les circonstances r\u00e9elles s\u2019\u00e9tendent au complice (<em>ex. les circonstances aggravantes, comme le vol avec usage d\u2019une arme<\/em>), d\u00e8s lors que l\u2019infraction est de m\u00eame nature que celle \u00e0 laquelle le complice entendait s\u2019associer (complicit\u00e9 pour tous les \u00e9l\u00e9ments pr\u00e9visibles)\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\"><em>Note 1:<\/em> it is possible to be an accomplice to an attempted offence, but it is not possible to attempt to be an accomplice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\"><em>Note 2<\/em>: When a person pays someone to kill another person, but the offence is not carried out, they may still be prosecuted for criminal solicitation (applicable only to murder and poisoning) (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000042193617\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000042193617\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Article 221-5-1 of the French Criminal Code<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\"><em>Note 3<\/em>: a person who remains passive in the face of an offence may be prosecuted for complicity or for failure to assist a person in danger (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000037289588\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.legifrance.gouv.fr\/codes\/article_lc\/LEGIARTI000037289588\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Article 223-6 of the French Criminal Code<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br><em><strong>Your Criminal Defense with Ma\u00eetre Lois Pamela LESOT<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\">Have you been the victim of, or accused in, a criminal case?<br>Consult a lawyer: Ma\u00eetre Lois Pamela LESOT \u2013 06.52.02.54.42 \u2013 <a href=\"mailto:lesot@loispamelalesot.com\" target=\"_self\">lesot@loispamelalesot.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\">The law firm regularly assists and defends individuals who are victims or accused in criminal cases such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/2023\/05\/27\/le-viol\/\" target=\"_self\">rape<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/2023\/07\/21\/le-chantage\/\" target=\"_self\">blackmail<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/2023\/11\/29\/abus-de-faiblesse\/\" target=\"_self\">abuse of vulnerability<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\">If you wish to file a criminal complaint, you can consult <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/2023\/01\/23\/la-plainte-penale\/\" target=\"_self\">this article<\/a>.<br>If you are accused, you can prepare for police custody by consulting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/2023\/04\/04\/la-garde-a-vue\/\" target=\"_self\">this article<\/a> and for a voluntary interview by consulting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/2024\/06\/21\/l-audition-libre\/\" target=\"_self\">this article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br>Article date: November 18, 2025 | By Lois Pamela LESOT<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Thus, whether a person is the principal offender or an accomplice has no impact on the penalties incurred.<\/p>\n<p>To be recognized as an accomplice under French law, three elements are required.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"plain-container","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"enabled","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-droit-penal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2241"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2248,"href":"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241\/revisions\/2248"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loispamelalesot.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}