During the criminal proceedings following the filing of a complaint by the victim of domestic violence, a judge may decide to place the perpetrator/defendant under supervision by issuing a judicial control order or “ordonnance de placement sous contrôle judiciaire”.
A judicial control order is a set of obligations imposed on a person suspected of having committed a criminal offence that is punished by a prison sentence. The purpose of this measure is to prevent the perpetrator from attempting to commit another offence and to enable them to appear before the court. In the context of domestic violence, this measure can be put in place by the judge if they consider that the victim’s safety is under threat. For example, the judge can prevent the perpetrator from approaching the victim until the trial.
This judicial control can be ordered by the judge when the defendant is in one of the following situations:
- The defendant is awaiting trial following a preliminary investigation (a short investigation) conducted by the public prosecutor.
- The defendant is under investigation (“mis en examen”) in the course of a judicial investigation (“information judiciaire”) carried out by an investigating judge (“juge d’instruction”).
The procedure for placing a defendant under judicial control is different depending on whether the defendant is concerned by the first or second situation explained above. Because cases of domestic violence are usually complex and require a detailed investigation, the alleged perpetrator is usually subject to a judicial investigation after the preliminary investigation, instead of being tried directly before court. Therefore, only the second procedure will be explained below.
Regardless of the procedure, a placement under judicial control is subject to two conditions:
- It is only possible if the defendant is suspected of having committed a criminal offence (crime or misdemeanour) that is liable to imprisonment.
- It must be justified by the needs of the investigation or as a security measure.
Procedure
In a judicial investigation, the defendant may be placed under judicial control at any time during the investigation. This measure is ordered by the investigating judge if he considers it necessary for the investigation.
The defendant may appeal against the decision to place them under judicial control. This appeal must be made within 10 days of the decision, by filing an application with the clerk ("greffier") of the judge who made the decision. The appeal is examined by the investigation chamber of the court of appeal.
The judicial control order may be modified at any time during the proceedings. The judge may add, remove or end some of the obligations and prohibitions.
Obligations
The person under judicial control must comply with the obligations and prohibitions laid down in the law. The judge decides which of these are necessary, depending on the case and the defendant’s personality.
These obligations can be for example:
- A ban on leaving territorial limits determined by the judge and a requirement to notify the judge in the event that they travel outside of these limits
- An obligation to move out of the family home and a ban on approaching the home closer than a certain distance
- An obligation to receive socio-educational and/or medical support
- A ban on going to certain places
- An obligation to give their identity documents to the judge, in particular their passport, in order to prevent them from leaving the country
- A ban on meeting or entering in contact with certain persons
- A ban on carrying a weapon
In the context of domestic violence and if the victim consents to it, the perpetrator can be prohibited from approaching the victim at less than a certain distance set by the decision and be obliged to wear an anti-approach electronic device.
In cases of domestic violence, the judge will inform the victim or their lawyer if the perpetrator has been prohibited from approaching or entering in contact with the victim.
Non-compliance with the judicial control order
If the perpetrator of the abuse approaches the victim when they have been prohibited from doing so by the judge, the victim should file a complaint immediately. The investigating judge may issue an arrest warrant to bring the person before a special judge called the “liberty and custody judge” (“juge des libertés et de la detention”). This judge can decide to place the perpetrator in prison until the trial. This is known as “détention provisoire”, or temporary detention.
The police or gendarmerie may also arrest the perpetrator if there is a reason to believe that they are not complying with their judicial order. The person can be held in the police station for a maximum of 24 hours.
End of the judicial control order
The judicial control order can be ended during the judicial investigation or when the investigation is closed.
During the investigation, the order may be lifted on the initiative of the investigating judge or at the request of the public prosecutor or at the request of the defendant. This request is made through an application before the investigating judge’s clerk. In this case, the judge asks the public prosecutor for his opinion and gives a ruling within 5 days after the request.
When the judge closes the judicial investigation, the judge may decide to dismiss the case or refer it to the court. If the judge dismisses the case, the judicial control must be ended.
The judicial control may continue after the end of the investigation only if the person is going to trial.
- If the person is going to trial before the assize court or “cour d’assises” (the court where only crimes are being judged), the judicial control is maintained until the trial.
- If the person is going to trial before a correctional court or “tribunal correctionnel” (the court where only misdemeanours are judged), the judicial control ends. However, the investigating judge may decide to maintain the judicial control order until the trial by taking a separate decision that must state the reasons for maintaining it.