Paragraph 2: Voluntary appearance and summons

The warning, issued by the public prosecutor, dispenses with the summons, if it is followed by the voluntary appearance of the person to whom it is addressed. It indicates the offence being prosecuted and refers to the text of the law which punishes it. Where the accused is detained, the judgment must record the consent of the person concerned to be tried without prior summons. .

The summons shall be issued within the time limits and in the form laid down by articles 550 et seq. The summons informs the accused that he may be assisted by a lawyer of his choice or, if he so requests, by a court-appointed lawyer, whose costs will be borne by him unless he meets the conditions for access to legal aid, and that he also has the possibility of…

The summons to appear in person is equivalent to the summons to appear in court served on the accused, on the instructions of the public prosecutor and within the time limits laid down by article 552, either by a court clerk, an officer or agent of the judicial police, an investigation assistant acting under the control of the officer or agent of the judicial police, an official or agent of…

When the time between service of the summons provided for in Article 390 or notification of the summons provided for in Article 390-1 and the court hearing is less than two months and the accused or his lawyer have not been able to obtain before the hearing the copy of the file requested under Article 388-4, the court is obliged to order, if the accused so requests, that the case…

Any person who has lodged a complaint is notified by the public prosecutor of the date of the hearing. When the victim does not understand the French language, he or she is entitled, at his or her request, to a translation of the notice of hearing. Exceptionally, an oral translation or an oral summary may be provided. Where the notice of hearing has been sent to the victim but it…

A civil party who summons an accused person directly before a criminal court shall, in the summons, elect domicile within the jurisdiction of the court seised, unless he is domiciled there. .

When the civil party’s action is not joined to that of the public prosecutor, the criminal court sets, according to the resources of the civil party, the amount of the deposit that the latter must, if it has not obtained legal aid, deposit at the court registry and the time limit within which it must be made on pain of non-admissibility of the direct summons. This deposit guarantees payment of…