Section 7: Judicial supervision, house arrest and pre-trial detention

When an accused person is remanded in custody, the examining magistrate may impose a communication ban for a period of ten days. This measure may be renewed, but only for a further period of ten days. Under no circumstances does the gag order apply to the defendant’s lawyer. Subject to the foregoing provisions, any person remanded in custody may, with the authorisation of the investigating judge, receive visits in their…

When an accused person is remanded in custody, the examining magistrate may decide to prohibit him/her from corresponding in writing with one or more persons that he/she designates, in view of the requirements of the investigation, the maintenance of good order and security or the prevention of offences. For the same reasons, he may decide to withhold correspondence written by the detainee or addressed to him. The decisions referred to…

The remand in custody of a person who, during questioning by the investigating judge prior to referral to the liberty and custody judge, makes it known that that he/she has sole parental authority over a minor of no more than sixteen years of age residing with him/her may not be ordered without one of the services or persons referred to in the seventh paragraph of article 81 having first been…

If, in the course of the investigation, it appears that the case cannot be classified as a criminal offence, the investigating judge may, after communicating the case file to the public prosecutor for the purpose of making requisitions, either refer the matter by reasoned order to the liberty and custody judge for the purpose of maintaining the person under investigation in pre-trial detention, or prescribe his release with or without…

In all cases, release with or without judicial supervision may be ordered ex officio by the examining magistrate after receiving the opinion of the public prosecutor, on condition that the person under investigation undertakes to attend all the proceedings as soon as he or she is requested to do so and to keep the examining magistrate informed of all his or her movements. The public prosecutor may also request release…

In all matters and at all stages of the proceedings, except where there is a serious risk that the offence will be repeated, the release of a person remanded in custody may be ordered, ex officio or at the request of the person concerned, where a medical assessment establishes that the person is suffering from a life-threatening condition or that his or her state of physical or mental health is…

In any matter, a person remanded in custody or their lawyer may, at any time, request their release, subject to the obligations set out in Article 147. However, on pain of inadmissibility, no application for release may be made as long as the liberty and custody judge has not ruled on a previous application within the time limits provided for in the third paragraph of this article. Such inadmissibility shall…

Release may also be requested in any case by any person under investigation, any defendant or any accused person, and at any stage of the proceedings. When a trial court is seised, it is responsible for ruling on pre-trial detention. However, in criminal cases, the assize court only has jurisdiction when the application is made during the session in which it is to try the accused. In other cases, the…

When an order for the release of a person placed in pre-trial detention is made by the liberty and custody judge or the examining magistrate contrary to the requests of the public prosecutor, this order is immediately notified to this magistrate. For a period of four hours from notification of the order to the public prosecutor, and subject to the application of the provisions of the last paragraph of this…