Title I: Public prosecution and investigating authorities

Within the jurisdiction of each court of appeal, judicial police officers are equal before the law in prerogative and responsibility; they are placed under the supervision of the public prosecutor and under the control of the investigating chamber. Within the jurisdiction of each court, the court, the public prosecutor and his deputies alone have the authority to direct the activities of the officers and agents of the judicial police, through,…

The judicial police officers of the various corps or departments maintain, at all levels, relations of cooperation and mutual assistance, in compliance with the administrative rules and hierarchical procedures in force.

As soon as he is informed of a crime or flagrant offence, the local judicial police officer notifies the public prosecutor and, within the framework of the regulations specific to each corps or service, initiates the investigation or proceeds with it in accordance with the prescriptions of the code of criminal procedure. The competent magistrate makes a sovereign assessment, in each individual case, based on the nature and circumstances of…

The magistrate shall call upon judicial police officers from the National Directorate of the Judicial Police or the National Directorate of the Border Police or the Sub-Directorate of the Judicial Police of the National Gendarmerie General Directorate in cases of necessity, taking into account the possibilities afforded to the judicial police officer first approached by his speed of intervention, his sources of information, his knowledge of the case and the…

When participating in the same investigation, officers or agents of the national police and the national gendarmerie constantly collaborate in the interests of justice. They pool their skills, their abilities and the complementary resources at their disposal. The allocation of tasks and the centralisation of investigation elements are ensured by the magistrate referred to. The officers and agents of the national police and the national gendarmerie inform each other of…

When they are required, either for the execution of a letter rogatory or as part of a preliminary or flagrante delicto investigation, to carry out an investigative act likely to result in a disturbance of the peace, judicial police officers and judicial police agents acting in accordance with the provisions of Article 706-80 of the national police or national gendarmerie are required, after notice has been given to the instructing…

The officers and agents of the judicial police ensure that the state of the scene is preserved and that traces and evidence are preserved until the technical and forensic operations are carried out. Unless the magistrate designates a specific technical and forensic police service, these operations are carried out by the specialists usually called in by the first responders. When it is necessary to carry out technical or scientific examinations…

Within the framework of the legislative and regulatory texts or interministerial agreements in force: 1°The national police and the national gendarmerie shall endeavour to organise and implement the convergence of their central criminal documentation systems. Police services and gendarmerie units shall send information relating to delinquency and crime likely to be exploited for the purposes of centralisation, classification or dissemination (notices, sheets, statistics) to the services reporting to the national…

The central judicial police offices covered by articles R. 15-18and R. 15-22 are as follows: 1° Office central pour la répression du faux-monnayage; 2° Office anti-stupéfiants; 3° Office central pour la répression de la traite des êtres humains; 4° Office central de lutte contre le trafic des biens culturels; 5° Office central pour la répression de la grande délinquance financière ; 6° Office de lutte contre le trafic illicite de…