Police tribunal (France)

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (November 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

A police court in France is a criminal court which judges all classes of minor offenses (contraventions) committed by adults. More serious offenses are judged by a correctional court (tribunal correctionnel ) for délits (middling-level crime[a]), or by a cour d'assises for a serious crime.

## Composition

[edit]

The police court sits at the tribunal d'instance and is composed of a juge d'instance and a court clerk (greffier). The ministère public is represented by the procureur de la République or one of his representatives, known as substituts (substitutes) if the offense is a fifth-degree petty infraction (contravention).

## Jurisdiction

[edit]

### Jurisdiction of subject (ratione materiæ)

[edit]

The police tribunal handles contraventions, except offenses punishable by a penalty of imprisonment or of fines greater than 3,000 euros, voire 4,000(? -t) euros[1] of the Code of criminal procedure.[failed verification] The version approved November 18, 2016 provides for a few exceptions, such as an edict of the Conseil d'État.[2] The police tribunal is also competent d'attribution, meaning it also has jurisdiction in matters of customs, as provided by Article 356 of the Code des douanes, Code of Customs,[3] which specifies that "The police courts hear customs offenses and all customs-related matters raised by way of exception."[b]

### Jurisdiction of place (ratione loci)

[edit]

The police tribunal may handle infractions from any of the following relevant scopes of authority:

* place of the infraction's commission or discovery
* of the defendant's residence
* site of an impounded subject vehicle

The other compétence rules are identical to those of the tribunal correctionnel, (correctional tribunal).

## See also

[edit]

* Contravention in French criminal law

## References

[edit]

Notes

1. ^ Translation note: There is no agreement in English sources about how to refer to délit in English. The tripartite division of criminal offenses in French law does not line up well with concepts in common law, and translations of délit into English vary greatly. Some terms seen include: felony, major offense, intermediate offense, minor offense, minor crime, and misdemeanor. Many English sources describe the term on first appearance, and then just refer to it using the French term after that. Note that the English cognate delict exists (see Delict) but that word is never used in English to represent the French term.
2. ^ "tribunaux de police connaissent des contraventions douanières et de toutes les questions douanières soulevées par voie d'exception."

Citations

1. ^ Legifrance, Criminal procedure code, 521. sfn error: no target: CITEREFLegifrance (help)
2. ^ Legifrance, Art. 521, version of 18 Nov. 2016. sfn error: no target: CITEREFLegifrance (help)
3. ^ Legifrance, Customs code, Art. 356. sfn error: no target: CITEREFLegifrance (help)

Works cited

* République française; Secrétariat général du gouvernement (19 October 2022). "Légifrance Le service public de la diffusion du droit" [The public service for dissemination of the law]. Légifrance. Direction de l'information légale et administrative. ISSN 2270-8987. OCLC 867599055.

## External links

[edit]

* (in French) Texts of laws governing police tribunals
* (in French) Police tribunals on the site of the French Ministry of Justice

* v
* t
* e

French criminal law

* code, law, or procedure in: Belgium
* Finland
* Denmark:
* code
* law
* England
* EU
* Germany
* Ireland
* Italy
* Portugal
* Russia
* Scotland
* Spain
* Switzerland

History|

| Sources
of the law|

* Constitution of France
* Constitutional block
* ECHR
* Fundamental laws of the Kingdom of France
* Old French law
* French customary law[fr]
* TFEU

|

Codes and
documents|

* Criminal Ordinance of 1670
* Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
* Penal Code of 1791
* Code of Offences and Penalties
* Five Codes
* Code of criminal procedure of 1808 [fr]
* Penal Code of 1810
* Code of criminal procedure
* Penal code of 1994

People|

* Robert Badinter
* Cesare Beccaria
* Élisabeth Guigou
* Montesquieu
* Le Pelletier de Saint-Fargeau

Institutions|

* Maréchaussée
* Presidial court
* Gendarmerie nationale
* National Police

Participants|

| Judiciary|

* Correctional court
* Court of Assize
* Court of appeal
* Court of Cassation
* EU Court of Justice
* European Court of Human Rights
* Jurisdictional dualism
* Local court [fr]
* Police court
* Sentence Enforcement Court [fr]

|

Other|

* Ministère public
* Public prosecutor [fr]
* Investigating judge
* Judicial police
* Directorate
* Liberty and custody judge [fr]
* Sentence enforcement judge [fr]
* Judiciary of France

Offenses [fr]|

| Codes|

* Penal code
* Criminal procedure

|

Classes|

* Contravention
* Délit [fr]
* Crime [fr]

Components [fr]|

* Principle of legality
* Material element [fr]
* Moral element [fr]

Aggravating and
mitigating factors|

* Aggravating circumstances [fr]
* Recidivism [fr]
* Premeditation [fr]
* Personal vulnerability [fr]
* Mitigating circumstances [fr]

Examples|

* Crime in France
* List of crimes [fr]
* Assassination
* Biens mal acquis
* Accessory [fr]
* Murder
* Rape [fr]
* Theft [fr]

Criminal
procedure|

| Guiding
principles|

* Accused person (prévenu) [fr]
* Criminal responsibility
* Culpability
* Evidence [fr]
* Code
* Jurisprudence [fr]
* Presumption of innocence [fr]
* Guigou law [fr]
* Reasonable doubt
* in France
* Systems:
* Adversarial system
* in France [fr]
* Inquisitorial system
* Statute of limitations [fr]

|

Modes|

* Civil action [fr]
* Public action

Actions|

* Complaint [fr]
* Police custody [fr]
* Police investigation [fr]
* Prosecution
* Prosecutorial discretion
* Criminalization [fr]
* Qualification [fr]
* Judicial investigation [fr]
* Indictment [fr]
* Warrant [fr]
* Search warrant [fr]
* Court supervision [fr]
* Preventive detention [fr]

Roles|

* Magistrate [fr]
* Public prosecutor [fr]
* Investigating judge
* Jury [fr]
* Liberty and custody judge [fr]
* Sentence enforcement judge [fr]

Redress|

* Appeal [fr]
* Opposition [fr]
* Cassation [fr]
* Review and reexamination [fr]
* European Court of Human Rights

Punishment [fr]|

| Basics|

* Main penalty [fr]
* Peine complémentaire [fr]
* Minimum sentence
* Suspended sentence [fr]
* Early release [fr]
* Acquittal [fr]
* Parole [fr]
* Prison [fr]
* Rehabilitation [fr]
* Penalty order [fr]
* Prison administration [fr]

|

Penalties|

* Reprimand
* Fines [fr]
* Day-fine
* Capital punishment
* Guillotine
* Citizenship training [fr]
* Coercion [fr]
* Community service [fr]
* Punishment and redress [fr]
* Imprisonment [fr]
* Civil rights restrictions [fr]
* Electronic monitoring [fr]
* Stay (sursis) [fr]
* Criminal imprisonment (réclusion) [fr]

Education and

| publishing|

* Dalloz
* Documentation française
* National School for the Judiciary (ENM)
* Journal officiel
* Legifrance

|

* Glossary
* Codification [fr]
* Constitution
* Law of France
* Sources [fr]

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template