Cour d'assises
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| - | + | The '''''Cour d'Assises''''' ("[[Assize Court]]") in [[France]] is the court charged to judge people accused of [[felonies]] ("crimes" as known by French law), and one of the few to be composed of a [[juries|popular jury]]. According to French law, a felony is an act for which one can be condemned to more than 10 years of prison. | |
| - | A French ''cour d'assises'' or [[Assize Court]] is a [[criminal court|criminal]] [[trial court]] with [[original jurisdiction|original]] and [[Appellate jurisdiction|appellate]] [[limited jurisdiction]] to hear cases involving defendants accused of major [[felonies]] or [[indictable offence]]s, or ''crimes'' in [[French language|French]], and one of the few to be decided by [[jury trial]]. | + | |
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| - | Under [[French law]], a ''[[:wikt:crime|crime]]'' is any criminal act punishable by over 10 years of prison, including [[murder]] and [[rape]]. In the past, the ''cour d'assises'' could also sentenced convicted criminals to the [[death penalty]] for certain crimes, but the death penalty was abolished in France in 1981. | + | |
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| - | ==Composition== | + | |
| - | Cases are tried by a [[jury]] of 9 jurors and a panel of 3 active [[judge]]s, that is, one judge-in-charge (called "president" of the court) and two associate judges (''assesseurs''), on first hearing, and a jury of 12 jurors and a panel of 3 active judges on [[appeal]]. Lists of eligible jurors are put together at random from the list of registered voters, but both the prosecution and defense have the right to [[peremptory challenge]] and can refuse a juror without stating a reason. | + | |
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| - | Special procedures exist for the following categories of crimes and suspects: | + | |
| - | *Felonies committed by teenagers 16 years or older are tried in a special Juvenile Assize Court (''Cour d'Assises des Mineurs''). | + | |
| - | *Capital felonies of [[terrorism]] major or illicit [[drug trafficking]] which are tried in a special solemn proceeding by bench trial sitting 7 active justices on first hearing and 9 on appeal, without jurors. | + | |
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| - | ==Procedure== | + | |
| - | The procedure before the Court of Assize is oral: defendants and witnesses are to give their testimonies before the court. Witnesses and their close relatives cannot be put under [[oath]], since doing so could force them into [[self-incrimination]] (or incrimination of a relative). | + | |
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| - | At the end of the trial, the judges and jurors retreat. They first decide guilt by answering a series of questions (e.g. "Did X murder Y?", "Did X [[premeditation|premeditate]] the murder?"). If a conviction is obtained, they then rule on the appropriate penalty. During these procedure, judges and jurors have equal positions on questions of facts, while judges decide on questions of procedure. | + | |
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| - | Judges and jurors have also equal positions on sentencing. | + | |
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| - | ==Appellate Court of Assize== | + | |
| - | Every [[Departments of France|département]] in France has its own Assize court. In the past, their verdicts could not be appealed to the [[court of appeal]], and prior to 2001, could only be appealed to the French [[Court of Cassation (France)|Supreme Court]], which would review the case on points of procedure and law alone. When reversed, which was uncommon except for the [[death penalty]], the Court would refer the [[trial de novo|de novo trial]] to another Assize court. | + | |
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| - | One argument in favor of this practice was that allowing appeals to be made to professional judges after a verdict had been rendered by a popular jury would in essence deny popular sovereignty. Since 2001, however, Assize court verdicts may be appealed on point of fact and sentence to another county's Assize court, chosen by the French Supreme Court and to be heard before a larger jury. The case is then fully retried. Appeals to the Supreme Court are still possible on points of law and procedure as the jury trials of an Assize court would not be the proper venue to hear them. | + | |
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| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| - | *[[Judiciary of France]] | + | *[[Cour d'assises (roman de Simenon) ]] |
| - | *[[Corte d'Assise]] the Italian Cour d'assises | + | |
| - | *''[[Court of Cassation (France)|Cour de cassation]]'', French Supreme Court | + | |
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Revision as of 19:00, 16 May 2022
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The Cour d'Assises ("Assize Court") in France is the court charged to judge people accused of felonies ("crimes" as known by French law), and one of the few to be composed of a popular jury. According to French law, a felony is an act for which one can be condemned to more than 10 years of prison.
See also
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