Title II: Trial of offences

The deferred committal order issued by the criminal court pursuant to 3° of I or III of Article 464-2 shall immediately be signed by the president of the criminal court at the end of the hearing and affixed with his seal. The court may attach provisional execution to this warrant pursuant to IV of article 464-2 only: 1° If the case is referred to it under the immediate appearance or…

Where the total term of imprisonment, including any revocation of a suspended sentence, is more than one year, the criminal court which does not issue a warrant for arrest or detention pursuant to Article 465 may, pursuant to III of Article 464-2, issue a committal order with deferred effect. He may also not issue any warrant. However, where, taking into account any pre-trial detention, the remaining sentence to be served…

The deferred committal order entails obligations for the convicted person who is not detained for another reason: 1° To respond to the summons to appear within a period that may not exceed one month before the public prosecutor, if such a summons has been issued to him, at the end of the hearing when he was present or at a later date if he was not present ; 2° To…

The period between the date on which the person is informed of the date and time of his incarceration, at the end of the hearing or subsequently, and the date on which he is to be incarcerated may not exceed four months. As far as possible, the date of incarceration is determined by taking into account the sentenced person’s personal situation and, if applicable, the occupancy rate of the prison…

Failure to comply with the one-month time limit provided for in 2° of Article D. 45-2-3 or the four-month period provided for in article D. 45-2-4 does not constitute a ground of nullity preventing the deferred committal order from being executed, as long as the conviction is not time-barred.

If the committal order with deferred effect is issued against a person who is detained for another reason, the provisions of articles D. 45-2-3 and D. 48-2-5 providing for the convicted person to be summoned, a date for incarceration to be set and an order for the execution of the warrant to be issued are not applicable. The public prosecutor shall enforce the sentence as soon as possible when the…

The person against whom a warrant of committal with deferred effect has been issued shall be informed that if he or she fails, except on legitimate grounds or, in the absence of provisional execution, to exercise the remedies, to comply with the obligations laid down in 1° and 2° of Article D. 45-2-3, the prison sentence may be enforced at any time by the police. This information will be included…