Subsection 3: Hearing and deliberation

Without prejudice to the provisions of Article L. 532-11, hearings of the Cour nationale du droit d’asile are public.

The chairman of the hearing panel ensures the order of the hearing and directs the proceedings. Persons attending the hearing must observe a dignified attitude and maintain the respect due to justice. They are forbidden to speak without having been invited to do so, to give signs of approval or disapproval, or to cause any disorder whatsoever.The chairman of the hearing panel may have any person who fails to comply…

The chairman of the panel shall rule on requests for referral to a subsequent hearing submitted by the parties.The absence of one of the parties or his lawyer from the hearing shall not oblige the chairman of the panel to refer the case to a subsequent hearing.Decisions taken on the basis of the first paragraph shall not state the reasons on which they are based and shall not be subject…

The applicant is heard at the hearing in the language that he has, pursuant to Article L. 521-8, indicated to the administrative authority when registering his asylum application. In the absence of a choice on their part at the time of registration or in the event that their application cannot be granted, they will be heard in a language of which they have sufficient knowledge.

The Cour nationale du droit d’asile shall provide the applicant, free of charge, with an interpreter to assist him/her at the hearing, who has taken an oath to assist justice in his/her honour and conscience, before the president of the court or one of the vice-presidents.The interpreter shall be appointed in the language defined under the conditions provided for in Article L. 521-8.

The rapporteur reads out the report, which analyses, in complete independence, the subject of the request and the factual and legal elements presented by the parties, and mentions the elements likely to enlighten the debate, without taking sides on the meaning of the decision.The main elements of the report are translated for the claimant, if he or she requires the assistance of an interpreter.After reading the report, and unless the…

A party who, less than seven clear days before the close of the written investigation, has received either a statement or exhibits, or any of the information provided for in Article R. 532-26, may present at the hearing any oral observations that it considers useful to respond to this statement or information.

The panel deliberates in the absence of the parties. The rapporteur does not have the right to vote.The decision is taken by a majority of votes. A copy of the list of the hearing mentioning the meaning of the decisions thus reached is signed by the members of the judgment panel.Persons who take part in or attend the deliberations are subject to the obligation to respect secrecy under penalty of…