French Code of Criminal Procedure
In forceIn the event of prosecution by summons as provided for in article 390 or summons as provided for in article 390-1, the parties or their lawyer may, before any defence on the merits or at any time during the proceedings, request, by written submissions, that any act they consider necessary to establish the truth be carried out.
These submissions may be made before the start of the hearing, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt or by delivery to the clerk's office against receipt.
If he considers that all or some of the acts requested are justified and that it is possible to carry them out before the date of the hearing, the president of the court may, after consulting the public prosecutor, order them to be carried out in accordance with the rules applicable during the preliminary investigation. The reports or other documents relating to their execution are then attached to the case file and made available to the parties or their lawyer. If the accused or the victim have to be heard again, they have the right to be assisted, during their hearing, by their lawyer, pursuant to Article 63-4-3. The lawyer shall then be summoned no later than five working days before the hearing, and shall have access to the file no later than four working days before that date.
If the acts requested have not been ordered by the president of the court before the hearing, the court shall rule on the request and may by judgment assign one of its members or one of the investigating judges of the court, appointed under the conditions provided for in in Article 83, to proceed with additional information; Article 463 shall apply. If it refuses to order these acts, the court must give special reasons for its decision. The court may rule on this application without waiting for the judgment on the merits, by a judgment that may be appealed only at the same time as the judgment on the merits.
