The appearance on prior admission of guilt (CRPC)

This measure is also called penal composition or "guilty plea" because it will only be possible if the respondent acknowledges all the alleged facts.

The particularity of the CRPC is that it is a hybrid measure between the simple proposal of sentence (like the reminder of the law) and criminal proceedings.

Articles 41-2,10 °, R.66 and 768,9 ° of the Code of Criminal Procedure, specify that the measure must be entered in the criminal record, on the bulletin n ° 1, but not on the B2 according to article 775,14 ° of the code of penal procedure. Likewise, it cannot establish a first term for recidivism.

However, the prosecutor can propose a sentence of up to 1 year imprisonment. A power that encroaches on those of the president of the tribunal. Especially since it remains quite curious to acquiesce to its own imprisonment!

The advantage of this alternative to prosecution is that it provides a criminal response to minor offenses without having to go to court.

But the options are limited. Either the offender accepts the proposal and carries out the sentence, or he is tried by a court after initiation of public action by the public prosecutor.

The system is very simple: The prosecutor proposes a sentence, if the respondent accepts it, it will be approved by a judge.

Established by the law of June 23, 1999, the CRPC has been amended several times to extend its scope from minors then, to all offenses ... and this, until the last law n ° 2016-819 of June 21 2016 which extended it to the economic and financial offenses provided for in Articles L 465-1 et seq. Of the Monetary and Financial Code

According to articles 41-2 and 41-3, this measure concerns all contraventions and all offenses, "punishable as the main penalty by a fine or by imprisonment ..." including contraventions related.

Press offenses, political offenses, willful or involuntary attacks on the integrity of persons and sexual assaults punishable by articles 222-9 to 222-31-2 of the penal code are excluded.

The CRPC procedure

Proposal and acceptance

The proposal is only possible for people who recognize the alleged facts.

According to article 41-2, the proposal comes from the prosecution, "directly or through an authorized person". These are the judicial police officer and the delegate or mediator of the public prosecutor.

In general, it is notified by a judicial police officer at the end of police custody or the hearing of the accused.

If the respondent accepts the proposal, his agreement is obtained on a report that he signs as well as the JPO, before its transmission to the prosecutor so that he too appends his signature.

The criminal composition report must specify:

• The alleged facts and their legal qualification.
• The quantum of the proposed measures and the time frame within which they must be carried out.
• The amount or nature of the remedies offered to compensate the victim.
• The right to be assisted by a lawyer before agreeing to the prosecutor's proposals (legal aid possible).

- The right to a cooling-off period of 10 days before making its response known and the indication of the date and time at which it will be called to give its response. If she does not appear, she will be considered as having refused the penal composition.

A copy of the report is given to the person concerned.

The penal proposal is sent for validation to the president of the tribunal de grande instance, if it is an offense; or the district court, if it is a violation.

The validation

The president of the tribunal de grande instance or the magistrate is seized upon request signed by the public prosecutor. All the acts of the investigation procedure are annexed to it.

The president can decide to proceed to the hearing (not public) of the victim or the perpetrator, and their lawyers.

The president of the tribunal has no discretion over the proposed penalties and quantum: he can only validate or reject the proposal.

The magistrate's decision is notified to the person concerned and is not subject to appeal.

Execution

The public prosecutor can appoint a delegate or a mediator to implement the measures decided and to control their execution.

Paragraph 7 of article 41-2 specifies that “if the person does not accept the penal composition or if, after having given his agreement, he does not fully carry out the measures decided upon, the public prosecutor shall put in public action movement, barring any new element ”.

To justify the non-execution of the sentence, the new elements must be of a medical, family, professional or social nature.

If the measures have been properly executed, the public prosecutor or the person in charge of the execution of the measure notifies the person concerned of the termination of the public action.