Section 3: Designation of customs officers responsible for carrying out certain judicial police duties

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Article A36-2

French Code of Criminal ProcedureIn force
Ask for lawyer reviewed or certified translation

Updated 5 Nov 2023

The syllabus for the technical examination is as follows:

Criminal procedure

Introduction:

Freedom of evidence; separation of prosecuting, investigating and adjudicating authorities;

Public prosecution; civil action.

A. - Authorities vested by law with judicial police functions:

The public prosecutor;

The investigating judge;

Officers and agents of the judicial police;

Customs officers entrusted with the performance of certain judicial police duties.

B. - Judicial police activities:

The distinction between administrative police and judicial police;

The flagrante delicto procedure;

The preliminary investigation;

Searches and seizures, police custody;

The control of the judicial police mission;

Preparatory investigation, letters rogatory, indictment, judicial warrants, rules governing the investigation, control by the investigating chamber over the activity of judicial police officers and customs officers;

The criminal courts;

The criminal procedure applicable to minors;

The nullity of procedural acts.

General criminal law

A. - General information on criminal law:

B. - The criminal offence:

The constituent elements of the offence: the legal element, the material element, the moral element;

The classification of offences and the judicial organisation in criminal matters;

The general principles of criminal liability, complicity, the criminal liability of legal persons.

C. - Sentencing:

Definition and classification of penalties;

Enforcement of penalties.

Special criminal law

A. - Infringements of the Customs Code

B. - Indirect tax offences.

C. - Infringements of trademark counterfeiting legislation.

D. - Criminal code offences:

- Offences against the human person: drug trafficking;

- Offences against property: theft, fraud, breach of trust, receiving stolen goods, money laundering;

- Offences against the authority of the State: bribery, active and passive corruption, illegal taking of interests, embezzlement and misappropriation of property, influence peddling, acts of intimidation committed against persons holding public office, embezzlement and misappropriation of property contained in a public depository, contempt, rebellion;

- offences against public trust: forgery, falsification of marks of authority.

Mariela Petrova

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Common Questions

Working with a corporate lawyer in France — Q&A

Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

Yes — most of our clients are foreign suppliers, investors or holding entities. We bridge the gap between French law and your home jurisdiction's expectations and deliver everything bilingually.

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

Yes — communications with a French avocat are protected by the secret professionnel (Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971). This protection is broader than the common-law attorney-client privilege and applies to written and oral exchanges.

We work on fixed fees for clearly scoped engagements (incorporation, contract drafting, audits) and on monthly retainers for ongoing advisory. Hourly billing is the exception, not the default. You always know the cost before work starts.

Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

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