Chapter III: The single judge

The assignment of a case to the single judge may be decided until the date of the hearing has been fixed. The allocation of cases assigned to the single judge is made by the president of the court or by the president of the chamber to which the case is referred or to which it has been allocated.

When a case is assigned to the single judge, the latter exercises the powers conferred on both the court and the pre-trial judge. If the case is subsequently referred to the panel, its investigation is continued, if necessary, either by the same judge with the powers of the pre-trial judge, or by the pre-trial judge, depending on the decision of the president of the chamber.

The award to the single judge and the referral to the panel are noted in the case file. Notice of this shall be given to the lawyers constituted. In cases that do not require the assistance of a lawyer, this notice is sent to the parties by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.

A request to refer a case assigned to the single judge to the panel must, on pain of foreclosure, be made within fifteen days of receipt of the notice provided for in Article 814. The referral of a case to the panel by the president of the court or his delegate may be decided at any time.

The provisions of the second paragraph of Article 814 and of the first paragraph of Article 815 cease to apply if the right to request referral to the panel is waived.