Complaint

In France

Complaint and regulation

One can carry felt sorry for when one was victim of an penal offense, that it is:

a Crime, for the most serious infringements (murder, rapes, terrorism…)
a Offense, for 10 years the punished grave offenses of maximum imprisonment;
a Infringment, i.e. an only punished infringement of a fine.

The infringement should not be prescribed: Passed the term of limitation, the author of the infringement cannot be continued any more what means that the complaint would not be likely any to succeed. There exists however an important exception concerning the minors victims of a murder or assassination preceded or accompanied by a rape, tortures or barbarous acts or for the infringements of aggression or sexual offenses or recourse to the prostitution of a minor. In this case, the term of limitation is 20 years as from their majority.

In the other cases, except some exceptions, the regulation of the public action is of:

1 year as regards Infringment,
3 years as regards Offense,
10 years as regards Crime.

Types of complaint

The simple complaint

The form of the simple complaint is free:

one can write a letter with acknowledgment of delivery in which one exposes the facts which one was victim. One addresses the letter is with the public prosecutor Court of Bankruptcy of the place of the infringement or residence of the author of the infringement, if it is known, is with the police station or the brigade of Gendarmerie, which will transmit the complaint to the public prosecutor after investigation;
one can also deposit felt sorry for verbally with the police station or the gendarmerie squad, if possible of the place of the infringement. Let us note however, that under the terms of the principle known as of one-stop shopping, any police service or of gendarmerie is in the obligation to receive the complaint of a citizen, whatever the place where the infringement object of this one was made.

It is not necessary to qualify the infringement juridically and to indicate the text of the applicable penal code.

The public prosecutor often classifies without continuation the simple complaints, i.e. it does not continue the adversary. In addition the procedure is long.

The public prosecutor seized of the business can

make carry out a survey by the police force or the gendarmerie
to classify without continuation the file if he considers that it is not necessary to continue
or to continue it, if it estimates that the infringement is real and that there exists sufficient elements of proof.

In the event of continuation, and according to the complexity of the file or the need for looking further into the investigation, the business will be:

either returned directly in front of the Police court or the Magistrates' court
or entrusted to a Examining magistrate which will make complementary investigations (the passage by an examining magistrate is obligatory in the event of Crime)

There exists also the possibility of reporting the facts which one estimates victim with the police station without to carry felt sorry for, for example to avoid possible reprisals or to constitute a file of evidence before carrying felt sorry for, it is about the handrail. This procedure does not exist in the gendarmerie.

The complaint with constitution of civil part

See also: Felt sorry for with constitution of civil part

The direct quotation

European Union

One calls also felt sorry for the request presented in front of the Commission of the European Communities in order to make him note an infringement with the rules of competition of a treated. This one will be able consequently to make a decision of negative Attestation or a Déclaration of inapplicability.

See too

External bonds

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