Section 2: Appearance of the accused

At the hearing, the presence of a defence counsel with the accused is mandatory. If the defence counsel chosen or appointed in accordance with Article 274 fails to appear, the president shall appoint one of his own motion.

The accused appears free and only accompanied by guards to prevent him from escaping.

If an accused person refuses to appear, a summons is served on him in the name of the law, by a bailiff appointed for this purpose by the president, and assisted by the force publique. The bailiff shall draw up a record of the summons and of the accused’s reply.

If the accused does not comply with the summons, the president may order that he be brought before the court by force; he may also, after reading out at the hearing the report recording his resistance, order that, notwithstanding his absence, the proceedings be dispensed with. After each hearing, the record of the proceedings will be read to the accused who has not appeared by the clerk of the assize…

Without prejudice to the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 272-1 and those of the second paragraph of article 379-2, the president may order that the accused who is not remanded in custody and who does not appear at the hearing be brought before the assize court by the police.

When at the hearing one of the assistants disturbs order in any way whatsoever, the President shall order his expulsion from the courtroom. If, during the execution of this measure, he resists this order or causes an uproar, he shall, forthwith, be placed under a committal order, tried and punished by two years’ imprisonment, without prejudice to the penalties laid down in the Penal Code against the perpetrators of contempt…

If order is disturbed by the accused himself, the provisions of Article 321 shall be applied to him. The accused, when expelled from the courtroom, shall be kept by the police, until the end of the proceedings at the disposal of the court; it shall, after each hearing, be carried out as stated in article 320, paragraph 2.