Assistant of justice

In French Right, the assistants of justice are nontitular agents of the State exerting their functions near the magistrates of the orders legal and administrative.

These graduates in right complete preliminary works under the authority and the responsibility of the magistrates. This work consists, according to the service where they are affected, in the search of Jurisprudence or documentation, the treatment of the mail, the drafting of projects of judgments or final indictments… They do not have any jurisdictional capacity however.

In the jurisdictions of the legal order

Recruitment

The candidates must be titular of a diploma of level Master I sanctioning a legal formation (four years of study). Their candidature (covering letter, CV, copy of the diplomas and statements of notes) can be addressed constantly to the chiefs of the Court of Appeal (first president and Public prosecutor) within the competence of their residence.

These functions are generally exerted by doctorands in right and candidates to the entrance examination to the National school of the magistrature or the examination of entry to the Professional training center of the lawyers. They cannot indeed be occupied by the members of the legal and legal liberal professions or by the people who are employed with their service in the spring of the Court of Appeal where they have their place of business.

After examination of the application (maintenance and investigation of morality), recruitment is decided by the chiefs of the Court in the spring of which they presented their candidature.

Before their taking of, the assistants of justice thus lend oath in front of the chiefs of the Court of Appeal: “I swear to preserve the secrecy of information on the legal affairs like on the acts of the parquet floor and the jurisdictions of instruction and judgment of which I will have been informed at the time of my work within the jurisdictions. ” They cannot in no case to be raised of this oath.

They are indeed subjected to the rights and the obligations of the agents of the Public office like with the Professional secrecy and a strict general obligation of discretion under cover of the sorrows envisaged with the article of the Penal code.

Statute

They are recruited by engagement written for one two years duration, renewable twice, that is to say one 6 years total duration. It are placed on decision of the chiefs of the Court of Appeal near a chief of jurisdiction of the spring which pronounces its assignment (Magistrates' court, Court of Bankruptcy, Court of Appeal); they can also be affected near a Administrative court, of a Administrative court of call, Court of appeal or Council of State.

Article 5 of the Décret n°96-513 of the modified June 7th, 1996 relating to the assistants of justice lays out that “written engagement specifies its date of effect and its duration, the nature of the exerted functions, the jurisdictions of assignment and the methods of organization of the working time. If the interest of the service requires it, those can be modified during the execution of engagement. ” Engagement begin with one three months trial period during which it can be put an end there without notice nor allowance.

These part-time functions being exerted (60 with 80h/mois within the limit of 720h/an), they cannot have of another community activity without the agreement of the chiefs of the Court of Appeal. An allowance from approximately 450 to 500 euros monthly net incomes their is allotted.

They profit from one duration annual leaves equal to five times their weekly obligations of service carried out.

Anticipated term and renewal of the contract

Before the arrival of the term, it can be put an end to engagement:

In the event of serious error of the assistant of justice without notice nor allowance of Dismissal;
For a reason other than disciplinary involving the payment of a dismissal indemnity;
By the resignation of the assistant of justice addressed by registered letter with the help of a fifteen days notice. In particular when that he was candidate for a contest or examination to which he was received.

Two months before the expiry of the first engagement, the assistant of justice is informed of his possible renewal. The answer being worth acceptance must intervene explicitly within fifteen day. Lastly, engagement can from now on be renewed one second time under the same conditions.

Sources

Article 20 of the Law n°95-125 of February 8th, 1995 modified by the law n°2002-1138 of September 9th, 2002 relating to the assistants of justice
Decree n°96-513 of June 7th, 1996 modified by the decree n°2004-1122 of October 14th, 2004 relating to the assistants of justice
stopped of June 7th, 1996 fixing the amount of the time allowance of vacation allocated at the assistants of justice

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