French Code of Criminal Procedure
In forceI.-The investigating judge may only inform by virtue of an indictment issued by the public prosecutor.
The indictment may be made against a named or unnamed person.
When facts, not covered by the indictment, are brought to the attention of the investigating judge, the latter must immediately communicate to the public prosecutor the complaints or reports recording them. The public prosecutor may then either request the investigating judge, by supplementary indictment, to provide information about these new facts, or request that a separate investigation be opened, or refer the case to the trial court, or order an investigation, or decide to close the case or take one of the measures provided for in articles 41-1 to 41-3, or forward the complaints or reports to the public prosecutor with territorial jurisdiction. If the public prosecutor requests that a separate investigation be opened, this may be entrusted to the same investigating judge, appointed under the conditions set out in the first paragraph of Article 83.
In the event of a complaint with civil party status, the procedure shall be as set out in Article 86. However, where new facts are reported to the investigating judge by the civil party during the course of the investigation, the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply.
II.-In criminal matters, where justified by the seriousness or complexity of the case and where he/she requires a co-investigating judge, the public prosecutor at the judicial court in which there is no investigating division is competent to request the opening of an investigation before the judges of the division with territorial jurisdiction for offences falling within its jurisdiction pursuant to Article 43, including having the persons concerned brought before them.
In the cases provided for in the first paragraph, the initiating indictment may also be issued by the public prosecutor at the judicial court within which the centre is located, who for this purpose has territorial jurisdiction over the entire jurisdiction of this centre, including directing and supervising criminal investigations.
The public prosecutor at this judicial court has sole jurisdiction to monitor the progress of the information referred to in the preceding paragraphs until it is resolved.
In the event of referral to the trial court, the case is referred, depending on the case, to the police court, the criminal court, the juvenile court or the assize court initially competent.
II bis -The Public Prosecutor at the judicial court in which there is no investigating judge is competent to request the opening of an investigation before the investigating judge or judges of the judicial court with jurisdiction pursuant to the second paragraph or the fourth and penultimate paragraphs of Article 52-1, including having the persons concerned brought before them.
In the cases provided for in the first paragraph of this IIa, the opening submissions may also be made by the public prosecutor at the judicial court within which the investigating judge or judges are located and who is territorially competent for this purpose throughout the jurisdiction of his or her court with regard to information, including directing and supervising criminal investigations.
The public prosecutor at this judicial court has sole jurisdiction to monitor the progress of the information referred to in the first two paragraphs of this IIa until it is settled.
In the event of referral to the trial court, the case is referred, depending on the case, to the police court, the criminal court, the juvenile court or the assize court initially competent.
III.-If the public prosecutor at the judicial court in which there are one or more investigating judges or in which there is an investigating division finds that a person has been referred to him with a view to the opening of an investigation pursuant to the second paragraph of II or pursuant to the second paragraph of IIa and he considers that no investigation should be opened or that no investigation falling within the jurisdiction of the division should be opened, it may, before forwarding the case file to the Public Prosecutor with territorial jurisdiction, request that the person be placed under judicial supervision or in pre-trial detention in accordance with the procedures set out in the last paragraph of Article 394 and Article 396. If the person is remanded in custody, he or she must appear before the public prosecutor with territorial jurisdiction no later than the fifth working day thereafter. If they fail to do so, they will be released automatically.
