Procedure applicable to offenses of a sexual nature and the protection of child victims
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CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Title XIX: Procedure applicable to offenses of a sexual nature and the protection of child victims Article 706-47 Persons prosecuted for the murder or assassination of a minor preceded or accompanied by rape, torture or acts of barbarism or for one of the offenses referred to in articles 222-23 to 222-32 and 227- 22 to 227-27 of the penal code must be submitted, before any judgment on the merits, to a medical expertise. The expert is questioned on the advisability of an injunction of care within the framework of a socio-judicial follow-up. This expertise can be ordered from the stage of the investigation by the public prosecutor. This expertise is communicated to the prison administration in the event of a sentence involving deprivation of liberty, in order to facilitate the medical and psychological monitoring in detention provided for in article 718. Article 706-47-1 The judicial police officer, acting during the investigation or on a rogatory commission, may proceed against any person against whom there are serious or consistent indications of having committed rape, sexual assault or sexual assault provided for by Articles 222-23 to 222-26 and 227-25 to 227-27 of the Penal Code, to a medical examination and a blood test to determine whether this person is not suffering from a sexually transmitted disease. The doctor, nurse or person authorized by the provisions of the public health code to perform acts reserved for these professionals, who is required for this purpose by the judicial police officer, must endeavor to obtain the consent of the interested party. At the request of the victim or when his interest justifies it, this operation may be carried out without the consent of the person concerned on written instructions from the public prosecutor or the examining magistrate which are included in the proceedings file. The result of the screening is brought, as soon as possible and by the intermediary of a doctor, to the attention of the victim or, if the latter is a minor, of his legal representatives or of the ad hoc administrator appointed in application. of the provisions of article 706-50. Refusing to undergo the screening provided for in this article is punishable by one year’s imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 Euros. Notwithstanding the provisions of articles 132-2 to 132-5 of the penal code, these penalties are cumulative, without the possibility of confusion, with those likely to be pronounced for the crime or the misdemeanor which was the subject of the procedure. Article 706-48 Minors who are victims of one of the offenses mentioned in article 706-47 may be the subject of a medico-psychological assessment intended to assess the nature and extent of the damage suffered and to establish whether it makes it necessary. appropriate treatment or care. Such an expertise can be ordered from the stage of the investigation by the public prosecutor. Article 706-49 The public prosecutor or the examining magistrate immediately informs the children’s judge of the existence of a procedure concerning a minor victim of one of the offenses mentioned in article 706-47 and communicates all the documents to him. useful, as soon as an educational assistance procedure has been opened with regard to the minor victim of this offense. Article 706-50 The public prosecutor or the examining magistrate, seized of acts committed voluntarily against a minor, appoints an ad hoc administrator when the protection of the interests of the latter is not fully ensured by his legal representatives. or by one of them. The ad hoc administrator ensures the protection of the interests of the minor and exercises, if necessary, on behalf of the latter the rights granted to the civil party. In the event of the constitution of a civil party, the judge shall appoint an ex-officio lawyer for the minor if one has not already been chosen. The foregoing provisions are applicable before the trial court. Article 706-51 The ad hoc administrator appointed in application of the preceding article is appointed by the competent magistrate, either from among the relatives of the child, or from a list of personalities whose conditions of constitution are fixed by decree in the Council of State. This decree also specifies the conditions of their compensation. Article 706-52 During the investigation and information, the hearing of a minor victim of one of the offenses mentioned in article 706-47, with his consent or, if he is not ready for action to give it, that of its legal representative, the object of an audiovisual recording. The recording provided for in the previous paragraph may be exclusively audio if the minor or his legal representative so requests. When the public prosecutor or the examining magistrate decides not to proceed with this recording, this decision must be justified. The public prosecutor, the examining magistrate or the judicial police officer in charge of the investigation or acting on rogatory commission may request any person qualified to carry out this recording. The provisions of Article 60 are applicable to this person, who is bound by professional secrecy under the conditions of Article 11. A copy of the recording is also drawn up for the purpose of facilitating subsequent consultation during the course. of the procedure. This copy is on file. The original recording is placed under closed seals. By decision of the investigating judge, the recording can be viewed or listened to during the proceedings. The copy of the latter may however be viewed or listened to by the parties, lawyers or experts, in the presence of the investigating judge or a clerk. The last eight paragraphs of Article 114 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are not applicable to registration. The copy of the latter may however be viewed by the lawyers of the parties at the courthouse under conditions which guarantee the confidentiality of this consultation. The fact, for any person, of broadcasting a recording or a copy made in application of this article is punishable by one year of imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 euros. At the expiration of a period of five years from the date of the termination of the public action, the recording and its copy are destroyed within a period of one month. Article 706-53 During the investigation or information, the hearings or confrontations of a minor victim of one of the offenses mentioned in article 706-47 are carried out by decision of the public prosecutor or the examining magistrate. , where applicable at the request of the minor or his legal representative, in the presence of a psychologist or a doctor specializing in childhood or a member of the minor’s family or the ad hoc administrator appointed in application of article 706-50 or of a person entrusted with a mandate of the juvenile judge. |
