Book IV: Some special procedures

When, as a result of an extraordinary cause, minutes of judgments or rulings rendered in criminal, correctional or police matters and not yet executed, or proceedings in progress and their copies drawn up in accordance with Article 81 have been destroyed, removed or are found mislaid or it has not been possible to restore them, the procedure shall be as follows.

If there is a copy or authenticated copy of the judgment or ruling, it shall be considered as a minute and consequently handed over by any public officer or any depositary to the registry of the court which rendered the decision, on the order given to him by the president of that court. This order serves as a discharge.

Where, in criminal cases, there is no longer a copy or authentic copy of the judgment, but there is still the statement of the court and jury mentioned on the question sheet, as stated in Article 364, a new judgment shall be delivered on the basis of that statement.

Where the statement of the court and jury can no longer be represented or where the case has been tried in absentia and there is no written record of it, the trial is restarted from the point at which the documents are missing. The same applies in any other matter where there is no longer a copy or authentic copy of the decision.