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Article D46-5 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure

The provisions of the second paragraph of Article 559-1 allowing the public prosecutor to extend the time limit for service of a decision to up to three months shall also apply to service issued at the request of the public prosecutor or the civil party.

The public prosecutor and the civil party may specify this three-month period in their initial application. They may also extend the period by up to three months if the bailiff informs them that he has been unable to effect service within the period of forty-five days initially set.

These time limits run from receipt by the bailiff of the request from the public prosecutor or the civil party.

Original in French 🇫🇷
Article D46-5

Les dispositions du deuxième alinéa de l’article 559-1 permettant au procureur de la République de porter jusqu’à trois mois le délai de signification d’une décision sont également applicables aux significations délivrées à la requête du procureur général ou de la partie civile.


Le ministère public et la partie civile peuvent prévoir ce délai de trois mois dans leur requête initiale. Ils peuvent également proroger le délai jusqu’à trois mois lorsque l’huissier les informe qu’il n’a pu accomplir la signification dans le délai de quarante-cinq jours initialement prévu.


Ces délais courent à compter de la réception par l’huissier de la requête du ministère public ou de la partie civile.

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