Section 3: Powers of the public prosecutor

During the investigation or when no court has been seised or when the court seised has exhausted its jurisdiction without having ruled on the restitution of items placed in the hands of justice, the public prosecutor or the public prosecutor is competent to decide, ex officio or on request, on the restitution of these items when ownership is not seriously contested. There shall be no grounds for restitution where restitution…

When, in the course of the investigation, it proves impossible to return seized movable property whose retention is no longer necessary to establish the truth, either because the owner cannot be identified, or because the owner does not claim the item within one month of a formal notice sent to his or her home, the public prosecutor may, subject to the rights of third parties, authorise the destruction of this…

By way of derogation from articles 41-4 and 41-5, when proceedings have ended in a final conviction handed down by an Assize Court, the Public Prosecutor or the Attorney General who intends to order the handover to the Estates Department or to the Agency for the Management and Recovery of Seized and Confiscated Assets or the destruction of items placed in the hands of the law as part of these…

The public prosecutor has, in the exercise of his duties, the right to directly request the force publique.

The public prosecutor of the place where the offence was committed, the public prosecutor of the place of residence of one of the persons suspected of having taken part in the offence, the public prosecutor of the place where one of these persons was arrested, even when the arrest was made for another reason, and the public prosecutor of the place where one of these persons was detained, even when…

Where the public prosecutor’s office at the judicial court has, pursuant to this code, specialised and concurrent jurisdiction that extends to the jurisdictions of other judicial courts, whether specialised or not, this jurisdiction is exercised with priority over that of the public prosecutor’s offices at these courts as long as the public prosecution has not been initiated. When it decides to exercise its jurisdiction, the public prosecutors’ offices of these…

The public prosecutor has authority over the officers of the public prosecutor’s office at the police courts within his jurisdiction. He may report to them any contraventions of which he is aware and order them to prosecute. He may also, if necessary, request that an investigation be opened. .

For offences that municipal police officers are authorised to record by means of a procès-verbal in accordance with the provisions of articles L. 511-1 and L. 512-2 of the Internal Security Code and which are committed to the detriment of the municipality in respect of one of its assets, the mayor may, as long as the public prosecution has not been initiated, propose to the offender a transaction consisting of…