Fiches Belges

This measure concerns the recognition and enforcement in France of decisions equivalent to judicial supervision pronounced by the competent authorities of another Member State of the European Union. Conditions: The decision of judicial supervision may be transmitted to the French competent authority when: - the concerned person ordinarily resident, under regular conditions, in the French territory and, having been informed of the measures concerned, agrees to return there; - the concerned person requests that the supervision order be executed in France while he/she is not ordinarily resident, under regular conditions, in the French territory and the French competent authority consent to the transmission of the supervision order. In the latter case article 696-68 of the French criminal code of procedure distinguishes according to whether the person is a French national or not. If the person is a French national: the public prosecutor is competent to consent to the transmission of the decision of judicial supervision. If the person is not a French national: the public prosecutor refers to the French Ministry of Justice. The Minister may consent to the transmission of the decision if the person concerned has the nationality of Member State other than France and if there are exceptional reasons justifying the execution of the decision in France. The French public prosecutor may ask for additional information. When the certificate is incomplete or does not correspond to a request for judicial supervision the public prosecutor may give 10 days to the issuing authority to correct or modify the certificate.

Council Framework Decision 2009/829/JHA of 23 October 2009 on the application, between Member States of the European Union, of the principle of mutual recognition to decisions on supervision measures as an alternative to provisional detention as transposed into the Code of criminal procedure at articles 696-48 to 696-89.

1/To receive the request: The public prosecutor is competent to receive the requests for the recognition and enforcement of decisions on judicial supervision ordered by the competent authorities of the other Member State as well as all decision on the extension, modification or release of measures already ordered and recognised. The competent public prosecutor is the public prosecutor of the place where is located the usual and regular residence of the person placed under judicial supervision or where the person requests to reside. Failing this, the public prosecutor of the Paris legal court is competent. If the public prosecutor to whom the request has been addressed is not competent he shall forward it without delay to the competent public prosecutor and inform the issuing State of this forwarding. 2/ To recognise and execute the measure: The liberty and custody judge is competent to rule on the recognition and execution of decision of placement under judicial supervision and to adapt them - particularly in the event of a subsequent decision of extension or modification. The liberty custody judge ensures the follow-up of the measure and is competent to stop its execution when release is ordered by the issuing authority. The liberty custody judge may hear the person concerned by the judicial supervision and may use to this end telecommunications means guaranteeing the confidentiality of the transmission.

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The public prosecutor produces its requisitions and refers to the liberty and custody judge within 3 days after the receipt of the request. The liberty and custody judge decides whether to recognize the decision on judicial supervision as enforceable within a maximum period of 7 days from the date of referral by the public prosecutor.

Mandatory grounds for refusal (art. 696-73 French criminal code of procedure): - The certificate is not produced, is incomplete or clearly does not correspond to a decision of placement under judicial supervision and has not been completed or corrected within the time limit set ; - The conditions provided for in Articles 696-50 to 696-52 are not met, in particular when, pursuant to Article 696-52, the recognition of the decision is subject to the consent of France and this consent has not been sought or has been refused; - The decision to place the person under judicial supervision is based on offences for which the person placed under judicial supervision has already been finally judged by the French courts or by the courts of a State of the European Union other than the issuing State, provided that the sentence has been enforced, is in the process of being enforced, or can no longer be enforced according to the law of the State that pronounced the sentence; - The decision is based on facts that do not constitute offences under French law. However, this ground for refusal is not applicable: "(a) When the decision to place the person under judicial supervision concerns an offence which, under the law of the issuing State, falls within one of the categories of offences mentioned in Article 694-32 and is punishable there by a custodial sentence or a detention order for a period equal to or exceeding three years' imprisonment; b) When the decision to place the offender under judicial supervision concerns a tax, customs or exchange offence, because French law does not impose the same type of tax or does not contain the same type of tax, customs or exchange regulation as the law of the issuing State"; - The facts could have been judged by the French courts and the statute of limitations for public action has expired under French law on the date of receipt of the certificate; - The person placed under judicial supervision enjoys immunity in France, which prevents the execution of the decision; - The decision was pronounced against a minor who was thirteen years old at the time of the events. Optional grounds for refusal ((art. 696-74 French criminal code of procedure): - When the surrender of the person concerned could not be ordered if a European arrest warrant were to be issued for that person because of non-compliance with the measures ordered in the context of the judicial review; - When the decision to place the person under judicial supervision is based on offences for which the person placed under judicial supervision has already been finally judged by the court of a non-EU Member State, provided that the sentence has been executed, is in the process of being executed or can no longer be executed under the legislation of that State.