French Code of Criminal Procedure
In forceWhen, in the course of the investigation, it proves impossible to return movable property that has been placed in the hands of the law and whose retention is no longer necessary to establish the truth, either because the owner cannot be identified, or because the owner does not claim the item within one month of a formal notice sent to his or her home address, the investigating judge may order, subject to the rights of third parties, the destruction of this property or its handover to the Agency for the Management and Recovery of Seized and Confiscated Assets for disposal.
The examining magistrate may also order, subject to the rights of third parties, that seized and confiscated movable property, the retention of which is no longer necessary to establish the truth and the confiscation of which is provided for by law, be handed over to the Agency for the Management and Recovery of Seized and Confiscated Assets with a view to its disposal, where continued seizure would diminish the value of the property. If the property is sold, the proceeds are deposited for a period of ten years. In the event of a dismissal, acquittal or acquittal, or where the penalty of confiscation is not pronounced, these proceeds shall be returned to the owner of the objects if he so requests.
Where continued seizure would be likely to diminish the value of the property, the investigating judge may also order, subject to the rights of third parties, that it be handed over to the agency for the management and recovery of seized and confiscated assets, with a view to its allocation free of charge by the administrative authority and after its value has been estimated, to the judicial services or to police services, gendarmerie units, the French Biodiversity Office or services placed under the authority of the Budget Minister that carry out judicial police missions, movable property placed in the hands of the law, the retention of which is no longer necessary to establish the truth and the confiscation of which is provided for by law. If the case is dismissed, the accused is acquitted or acquitted, or if the penalty of confiscation is not pronounced, the owner who so requests shall obtain the return of the property, accompanied if necessary by compensation for the loss of value that may have resulted from the use of the property.
The investigating judge may also order the destruction of movable property placed in the hands of justice whose preservation is no longer necessary for the determination of the truth, when it concerns objects classified by law as dangerous or harmful, or whose possession is unlawful.
Decisions taken pursuant to this article shall be the subject of a reasoned order. This order is made either at the request of the Public Prosecutor, or ex officio after receiving the latter's opinion. It shall be notified to the Public Prosecutor, the interested parties and, if known, the owner as well as any third parties with rights in the property, who may refer it to the Investigating Chamber under the conditions set out in the fifth and sixth paragraphs of Article 99. However, in the event of oral notification of a decision, taken pursuant to the fourth paragraph of this article, to destroy narcotic products that may be seized in the execution of a letter rogatory, this decision may be referred to the investigating chamber within twenty-four hours, by declaration to the registry of the investigating judge or to the authority that carried out the notification. These time limits and the exercise of the appeal are suspensive.
A decree in the Conseil d'Etat shall determine the terms of application of this article.
