NCJ Number
196644
Date Published
2001
Length
65 pages
Annotation
This document provides demographics, the basic rules of criminal law, and the principles of the criminal justice system in France.
Abstract
The population of France is 58.5 million people. As in most European countries the French population is aging. Criminal charges cannot be brought against minors under the age of 13, and between the ages of 13 and 18 the law recommends the use of care or educational measures. The juvenile courts are allowed to apply penal sentences on a case-to-case basis. Juvenile offenders face a punishment that is half of the legal punishment that can be dealt to a person over 18. Over 5 percent of the population is non-natives consisting of North Africans, Black Africans, Portuguese, Eastern and Central Europeans, and Southeast Asians. Seventy-five percent of the population lives in urbanized areas (over 2,000 inhabitants). Thirty-nine percent is employed, with women forming 45 percent of this population. A New Penal Code replaced the Napoleonic Penal Code in 1994. The Code emphasizes human rights, is less harsh than the previous code, and less insistent of the rights of property owners. The protection of the human being is at the forefront of the new code. The 1994 Penal Code provides a new scale of punishment and widens the scope of sentences left to the discretion of the courts. It introduces the notion of corporate criminal responsibility, gives judges latitude in sentencing, and rules out short custodial sentences of less than 6 months. Whenever a court passes a custodial sentence, it must state the specific grounds used. The Code classifies offenses into three groups: (1)contraventions for petty offenses; (2) delits for offenses of greater importance; and (3) crimes for custodial sentences from 10 years to life. These criminal cases are heard by different courts. The French prison system is organized in five different ways, from remand centers to long-term facilities. Appendix