Section 3: Powers of the public prosecutor

The public prosecutor, as long as the public prosecution has not been initiated, may propose, directly or through an authorised person, a penal composition to a natural person who admits having committed one or more offences punishable as a principal penalty by a fine or a prison sentence of up to five years, as well as, where applicable, one or more related contraventions which consists of one or more of the following measures:

1° Paying a composition fine to the Treasury. The amount of this fine, which may not exceed the maximum amount of the fine incurred, is set according to the seriousness of the offences and the person's resources and expenses. It may be paid in instalments, according to a schedule set by the public prosecutor, within a period that may not exceed one year;

2° Surrender to the State the thing that was used or was intended to be used to commit the offence or that is the product of the offence;

3° Surrender their vehicle, for a maximum period of six months, for immobilisation purposes ;

4° Surrender his driving licence to the clerk of the judicial court, for a maximum period of six months;

4° bis Follow a rehabilitation and awareness programme involving the installation, at his own expense, of an alcohol ignition interlock device on his vehicle, for a minimum period of six months and a maximum period of three years;

5° Surrender his hunting licence to the clerk of the judicial court, for a maximum period of six months ;

6° Carry out unpaid work for the benefit of the community, in particular within a legal person governed by public law or a legal person governed by private law entrusted with a public service mission or an authorised association, for a maximum of one hundred hours, within a period that may not exceed six months ;

7° Undergo an internship or training course in a health, social or professional service or organisation for a period of no more than three months within a period of no more than eighteen months;

8° Not issue, for a period of no more than six months, cheques other than those enabling the drawer to withdraw funds from the drawee or those that are certified and not use payment cards;

9° Not to appear, for a period not exceeding six months, in the place or places designated by the public prosecutor and in which the offence was committed or in which the victim resides;

10° Not to meet or receive, for a period not exceeding six months, the victim or victims of the offence designated by the public prosecutor or not to enter into contact with them ;

11° Not to meet or receive, for a period that may not exceed six months, the possible co-perpetrator(s) or accomplice(s) designated by the public prosecutor or not to enter into relations with them;

12° Not to leave the national territory and surrender his passport for a period that may not exceed six months ;

13° Complete, where applicable at their own expense, a citizenship training course ;

14° In the event of an offence committed either against his or her spouse, cohabitee or partner bound by a civil solidarity pact, or against his or her children or those of his or her spouse, cohabitee or partner, reside outside the couple's home or residence and, where applicable, refrain from appearing in this home or residence or in the immediate vicinity thereof, as well as, if necessary, receive health, social or psychological care ; the provisions of this 14° also apply when the offence is committed by the victim's former spouse or partner, or by the person who was linked to the victim by a civil solidarity pact, in which case the home concerned is that of the victim. For the application of this 14°, the State Prosecutor will obtain the victim's opinion or have it obtained, as soon as possible and by any means, on the advisability of asking the perpetrator to live outside the couple's home. Except in special circumstances, this measure is taken when acts of violence are likely to be repeated and the victim requests it. The public prosecutor may specify how the costs of this accommodation are to be covered for a period that he or she determines, which may not exceed six months;

15° Complete, where applicable at his or her own expense, a course to raise awareness of the dangers of using narcotics;

16° Submit to a day activity measure consisting of the implementation of vocational integration or educational upgrading activities either with a legal entity under public law, or with a legal entity under private law entrusted with a public service mission or an association authorised to implement such a measure;

17° Submit to a therapeutic injunction measure, according to the terms defined in articles L. 3413-1 to L. 3413-4 of the Public Health Code, where it appears that the person concerned is using drugs or habitually consuming excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages. The duration of the measure is a maximum of twenty-four months;

17° bis Complete, where applicable at their own expense, an awareness course to combat the purchase of sexual acts;

17° ter Complete, where applicable at their own expense, a parental responsibility course ;

18° Complete, at their own expense, a responsibility training course to prevent and combat domestic and gender-based violence;

19° Complete, where applicable at their own expense, a training course to combat sexism and raise awareness of equality between women and men.

When the victim is identified, and unless the perpetrator can prove that he has made reparation for the harm done, the public prosecutor must also propose that the perpetrator make reparation for the harm caused by the offence within a period that may not exceed six months. The victim is informed of this proposal. This reparation may consist, with the victim's agreement, in the restoration of property damaged by the commission of the offence.

The public prosecutor's proposal for a settlement may be brought to the attention of the offender by a judicial police officer. It is then the subject of a written decision signed by this magistrate, which specifies the nature and quantum of the measures proposed and which is attached to the proceedings.

Penal composition may be offered in a justice and law centre.

The person to whom a penal composition is proposed is informed that he or she may be assisted by a lawyer before giving his or her agreement to the public prosecutor's proposal. This agreement is recorded in a report. A copy of this report is sent to the prosecutor.

When the offender agrees to the proposed measures, the public prosecutor submits a request to the president of the court to validate the composition. The public prosecutor informs the offender and, where applicable, the victim of this referral. The president of the court may interview the offender and the victim, assisted, if necessary, by their lawyer. This judge validates the penal composition if the conditions set out in the twenty-fifth to twenty-seventh paragraphs are met and if he or she considers the proposed measures to be justified in view of the circumstances of the offence and the personality of the offender. He refuses to validate the settlement if he considers that the seriousness of the facts, in the light of the circumstances of the case, or that the personality of the person concerned, the situation of the victim or the interests of society justify recourse to another procedure, or when the statements of the victim heard in application of this paragraph shed new light on the conditions in which the offence was committed or on the personality of the perpetrator. If this magistrate issues an order validating the composition, the measures decided upon are implemented. Otherwise, the proposal lapses. The decision of the president of the court, which is notified to the offender and, where applicable, to the victim, is not subject to appeal. By way of derogation from the first eight sentences of this paragraph, the composition proposal is not subject to validation by the president of the court when, for a contravention or for an offence punishable by a prison sentence of up to three years, it relates to a composition fine not exceeding the amount provided for in the premier alinéa de l'article 131-13 du code pénal or on the measure provided for in 2° of this article, provided that the value of the thing handed over does not exceed this amount.

If the person does not accept the penal composition or if, after having given their agreement, they do not carry out the measures decided in full, the public prosecutor will initiate the public prosecution, unless there are new elements. In the event of prosecution and conviction, account will be taken, where appropriate, of work already completed and sums already paid by the person.

Acting to implement or execute the penal composition interrupts the statute of limitations on public action.

The execution of the penal composition extinguishes the public prosecution. However, the victim may ask the public prosecutor to summon the perpetrator to a hearing before the court to enable him or her to bring a civil action. The court, made up of a single magistrate exercising the powers conferred on the president, will then rule only on the civil interests, in the light of the case file, which will be submitted for debate. The victim also has the option, in the light of the validation order, where the perpetrator has undertaken to pay damages, of applying for recovery under the injunction to pay procedure, in accordance with the rules set out in the code of civil procedure. The public prosecutor informs the victim of his or her rights and, when summoning the perpetrator to appear before the criminal court, of the date of the hearing.

Completed plea bargains are entered in bulletin no. 1 of the criminal record.

The provisions of this article do not apply to press offences, manslaughter offences or political offences. They are applicable to minors aged at least thirteen, in accordance with the procedures set out in Article L. 422-3 of the Code of Juvenile Criminal Justice.

The president of the court may designate, for the purposes of validating the penal composition, any judge of the court as well as any magistrate practising on a temporary basis or any honorary magistrate exercising jurisdictional functions under the conditions provided for in the section II of Chapter Va of Ordinance no. 58-1270 of 22 December 1958 portant loi organique relative au statut de la magistrature, practising within the jurisdiction of the court.

The detailed rules for the application of this article shall be laid down by decree in the Conseil d'Etat.