Sub-section 5: Operation of the adversarial expert appraisal.

If the Public Prosecutor considers, following the inspector’s report or the laboratory’s report, and if necessary after a preliminary investigation, that proceedings should be instituted or an investigation initiated, he shall refer the matter to the court or the investigating magistrate, as the case may be. If an expert opinion is required, it will be carried out in accordance with the rules of this sub-section.

If the presumption of an offence is based on the laboratory analysis, the public prosecutor will inform the alleged perpetrator of the fraud or falsification that he or she may obtain the laboratory report and that he or she has three clear days in which to present his or her observations and to state whether or not he or she is requesting an expert opinion.

When an expert opinion has been requested, two experts are appointed, one by the examining magistrate and the other by the person concerned. The investigating magistrate will set a time limit for the latter to do so, but he or she has the right to explicitly waive the appointment and defer to the conclusions of the expert appointed by the judge. If the interested party, without having waived his right,…

After checking the integrity of the seals, the two experts are given the sample previously held by the owner or holder and the sample previously held by the agent who took the sample and forwarded to the public prosecutor. The examining magistrate will provide the experts with the sampling reports as well as the laboratory report, medical prescriptions, invoices, consignment notes, accounting documents and, in general, all documents that the…

If the owner or keeper does not submit his sample intact within the time limit set by the examining magistrate, the sample is no longer taken into account. In this case, the two experts are assigned to examine a single sample. When, in the course of or as a result of their investigations, the experts are led to presume that a substitution of samples has been made, they are obliged…

If the experts disagree, they appoint a third party expert. If no agreement can be reached on the choice of this third party expert, he will be appointed by the president of the court. The third party expert may be chosen from outside the official lists.

In the case provided for in article R. 5127-18, the public prosecutor notifies the interested party that the single sample is to be submitted for expert examination and informs him that he has three clear days to state whether he intends to exercise his right to appoint an expert. If this right is exercised, the two experts provided for in article R. 5127-22 and the third party provided for in…

Where the expert opinion is ordered by the court, it shall be carried out in accordance with the rules of this sub-section.