French criminal law

Courtyard of the Palais de Justice, Paris showing the old High Court of Paris, the Court of Appeals, and the Court of Cassation.
Legal systems of the world: countries in blue have Napoleonic law or a variant.

French criminal law is "the set of legal rules that govern the State's response to offenses and offenders".[1] It is one[2] of the branches of the juridical system of the French Republic. The field of criminal law is defined as a sector of French law, and is a combination of public and private law, insofar as it punishes private behavior on behalf of society as a whole. Its function is to define, categorize, prevent, and punish criminal offenses committed by a person, whether a natural person (Personne physique) or a legal person (Personne morale). In this sense it is of a punitive nature, as opposed to civil law in France, [fr] which settles disputes between individuals, or administrative law which deals with issues between individuals and government.

Criminal offenses are divided into three categories, according to increasing severity: contraventions, [fr] délits, [fr][a] and crimes.[b] The latter two categories are determined by the legislature, while contraventions are the responsibility of the executive branch. This tripartite division is matched by the courts responsible for enforcing criminal law: the police tribunal for infractions; the Correctional court for délits; the cour d'assises for crimes. Criminal law is carried out within the rules of French criminal procedure which set the conditions under which police investigations, [fr] judicial inquiries [fr] and judgements [fr] are carried out.

Like the legal systems of other liberal democracies, French criminal law is based on three guiding principles: the principle of legality in criminal law, an illegal act (actus reus), and intent (mens rea).[3] It has been influenced by various legal, ethical, and scientific philosophical movements over the centuries. While most of these influences are national in origin, European courts (such as the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights) have also influenced French criminal law. French criminal law was first codified during the French Revolution, resulting in the French Penal Code of 1791. Under the First Empire, Napoleon enacted the Penal Code of 1810, replaced by the French penal code of 1994.

The public prosecutor [fr] and his staff are responsible for the pursuit of legal proceedings and criminal prosecution, in collaboration with the police. To determine the offense, the judge must have a preexisting legal basis (préalable légal),[4] a material element, [fr; de] (actus reus) and a moral element [fr; de] (mens rea). The offense can only be charged if the perpetrator is mentally competent, and has consented to the commission of a criminal act (as perpetrator or accomplice) of their own free will. If the offense is attributed to a perpetrator, they are liable to legal punishment [fr], which may be aggravated or mitigated according to the circumstances. The judicial authority pronounces a sentence according to the severity of the acts: imprisonment or detention,[c] fine, conditional sentencing [fr], community service [fr], day-fine,[5][d] and so on. The convicted person may appeal the decision to the court of appeal, and, ultimately, to the Court of Cassation.

  1. ^ Merle & Vitu 1984.
  2. ^ Legifrance, Loi 2014-896 of 15 Aug 2014.
  3. ^ Pin 2020, §3-20.
  4. ^ Mathias 2007, p. 30.
  5. ^ Dalloz-CP 131-5.


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