French Code of Criminal Procedure
In forceIn accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph of article 362 of the present code, if the provisions of the first two paragraphs of article 132-23 of the penal code are applicable, the president shall inform the jurors of the consequences of the sentence pronounced on the security period and of the possibility of modulating it, in accordance with the procedures set out in the present article.
The president shall inform the jurors that in the event of an unsuspended custodial sentence of ten years or more :
1° The convicted person will not be able to benefit, during a security period, from the provisions concerning the suspension or splitting of the sentence, work release, temporary absences, semi-liberty and conditional release;
2° The length of this security period will be half the sentence handed down, but the Assize Court may, by special decision, either increase this period to two-thirds of the sentence, or decide to reduce it;
3° Pursuant to Article 720-4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, if the convicted person demonstrates serious signs of social rehabilitation, the Sentence Enforcement Court may, in exceptional circumstances, at any time during the execution of the sentence, decide to terminate the security period or reduce its duration.
If the penalty is life imprisonment, the president also informs the jurors that if this sentence is passed, the security period will be eighteen years, but that the Assize Court may either increase this period to twenty-two years or decide to reduce it.
In cases where the provisions of the last paragraphs of articles 221-3 and 221-4 of the Criminal Code are applicable, the president also informs the jurors of these provisions as well as the provisions of paragraphs two and three of article 720-4 of this code.
