Draft:Contravention in French criminal law

In French criminal law, contravention is the least serious category of Offense under French criminal law (the other two categories of offenses being misdemeanors and felonies), with penalities typically amounting to less than or equal to 3,000 euros in Fine in French criminal law. This type of offense, called "contraventional," is not limited to traffic violations (traffic code), nor to written notices given to the offender by law enforcement officers who witnessed the committed offense (Timbre fiscal mobile). They are classified into five classes of severity.

Contravention cases are adjudicated in the police tribunal. In cases of contraventions ranging from the 1st to the 4th class, a police commissioner or another official, known as an Officer of the public prosecutor's office, acts as a substitute for the Republic in the police court. For contraventions of the 5th class, the Public Prosecutor (France) from the Tribunal de grande instance (France) in the jurisdiction where the contravention took place must be present to fulfill their role as the defender of public order and society.

Regime of Contraventions
The system of contraventions is established by the Constitution of October 4, 1958, the Penal Code, and the Code of Criminal Procedure. These laws were introduced in 1958, replacing the Code of criminal procedure established by Napoleon in 1808.

The regime of Contraventions in the Constitution
Article 34 of the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, which pertains to the scope of the law, does not include provisions concerning contraventional offenses, in contrast to crimes and misdemeanors: "The law establishes the rules concerning: [...] the determination of crimes and misdemeanors, as well as the penalties applicable to them."

Article 34 exhaustively lists the areas of law, so contraventions are within the scope of regulations. The second paragraph of Article 37 of the Constitution of the Fifth Republic states: "Matters other than those within the purview of the law are regulatory."

However, according to Article 34, the legislator establishes the general principles: These are the criminal procedure and the protection of fundamental rights.

The regime of contraventions in the Penal Code
The regime of contraventions is included in the Penal Code:
 * for natural persons (personne physique) –  and following,
 * for legal entities (personne morale) – and following,
 * but also for the police — and following.

Determination of Contraventions
French contraventions are determined by Regulations under the Law of France, specifically by decree in the Council of State Decree. The regulatory authority is responsible for establishing, modifying, or removing contraventions. Contraventions are categorized into five classes based on their severity.

Determination of penalties
The French legislature establishes the general principles of contraventional penalties, including the Main penalty of fine and Supplementary penalties in France. However, it is the regulatory authority that determines the specific penalty for each contravention. The authority has the discretion to increase or decrease the penalty for a contravention by adjusting its classification.

Exclusive main penalty: the contraventional fine
The primary penalty for resolving a violation in France is a fine. The law specifies that when a contraventional fine is imposed, it cannot be combined with supplementary penalties. The amount of the contraventional fine is determined by French law based on the class of contravention committed.


 * There is no minimum contraventional fine penalty, which was not the case in the former French Penal Code, repealed in 1994, stating, "The fine for police contravention shall not be less than 30 francs nor exceed 12,000 francs." In addition, the former Penal Code also allowed imprisonment as the main penalty, limited to 2 months.
 * There is no increase in the amount of the contraventional fine in case of habitual offender unless specified by regulations (the contraventional fine is then 3,000 euros), or if the recurrence would constitute a misdemeanor.
 * For legal entities, the "maximum rate of the fine applicable to legal entities is five times that provided for natural persons by the regulation punishing the offense."

To tailor the penalty, fines may be accompanied by a simple suspension, according to specific modalities, or fractionated for "serious medical, family, professional, or social reasons."

Supplementary penalties
In addition to the fine, other penalties may be imposed, possibly cumulated, to Individualisation of penalties. The following legal penalties may be cited in this regard:
 * Suspension of the convicted person's driver's license;
 * Immobilization of a vehicle owned by the convicted person;
 * Confiscation of weapons, or prohibition of possession;
 * Revocation of the hunting license;
 * Prohibition from issuing checks;
 * Confiscation of the item used or intended to commit the offense, or its product;
 * Prohibition from driving certain motor vehicles;
 * Obligation to undergo a road safety awareness course at one's own expense;
 * Obligation to undergo a Probationary sentence if necessary at one's own expense.

Contentious procedure
A contentious procedure concerning contraventions begins with a private prosecution or the voluntary appearance of the parties, or even by a referral order from the examining magistrate. The police court is competent for this procedure since the suppression of the local court which handled contraventions of the first four classes from 2005 to 2017.

Procedure before the Police Court
The French police court is the Common law jurisdiction in France that handles contraventions. It consists of a single judge, a court clerk, and a Public Prosecutor (France) or one of their substitutes. This court replaced the district court on January 1, 2020.

In France, there are three procedures for judging contraventions: the ordinary procedure, which is more time-consuming, the simplified procedure, and the procedure for a fixed fine.

Default procedure
The default procedure is the one that applies when no other procedure is chosen.

Simplified Procedure
Only a public ministry can request the initiation of a simplified procedure instead of a default one. This procedure applies to all contraventions, including those committed in a state of recidivism. However, contraventions of the labor code and 5th-class contraventions committed by a minor are not eligible for this simplified procedure.

The key feature of the simplified procedure is the lack of The adversarial principle in legal proceedings in France. In this process, the judge of the local or police court can issue a penal order without hearing the accused. The law specifies that it is not always mandatory to hear the accused, particularly when the offense has been witnessed by a police officer or gendarme. However, if the judge deems it necessary to have an adversarial debate, the procedure can be continued in the regular form.

If the judge proceeds with the simplified procedure, they may issue a verdict of Relax (French law) or conviction, along with a fine or additional penalties.

The French judge is not required to justify the penal order that has been issued. "The name, first name, date and place of birth, and domicile of the accused, the legal qualification of the offense, the date and place of the alleged act, the mention of the applicable texts, and, if convicted, the fine amount and duration of any judicial constraints" must necessarily appear in the order.

In the context of a simplified procedure, French law specifies the following:

The penal order is enforceable for the penalty it imposes, and the public force can be called upon to enforce it. There is no further recourse available, such as an Appeal under Fench Law or Appeal in cassation under French law. However, the victim can appeal for personal compensation for the consequences of the offense, particularly through Damages under French law. Any appeal will be heard by a civil chamber of the Court of Appeal in the relevant jurisdiction.

Opposition to the execution of a penal order
To narrow the scope of this exception to the adversarial principle, a procedure is in place to challenge a penal order that has been issued, enabling a return to the standard adversarial process before the appropriate court.

The public prosecutor must file his opposition within 10 days after the penal order is issued. The order can only be notified to the accused after these 10 days have passed. The accused then has 30 days (from the date of receiving the notification) to file his opposition with the registry of the appropriate court.

Filing an opposition has a Suspensive effect: upon receiving the notice of opposition to the penal order, the public treasury accountant suspends the collection of the fine.

Procédure lors d'une amende forfaitaire
The French Code of Criminal Procedure includes provisions for imposing a fine in cases of violating specific legal regulations.

In the case of a fixed fine, individuals who commit offenses classified in the first four classes, as determined by decree, can avoid prosecution by paying a predetermined fine within 45 days of the offense being detected or receiving a notice of violation. The fixed fine applies to all offenses classified in classes 1 to 4 of the Highway Code.

The fine is subject to an increase if the payment deadlines are not met by the offender unless a formal challenge has been submitted within the specified time frame.

On the other hand, the fine is reduced for specific violations of the Highway Code (excluding parking offenses) if the offender pays within 3 days of the offense being discovered or within 15 days if the notice of violation is sent later to the individual involved.

The procedure for the fixed fine does not apply in cases where multiple offenses are found simultaneously, at least one of which does not qualify for a fixed fine.

Fixed fines are applicable for contraventions in the first four classes.

The fixed fine amount for offenses related to stopping and parking in the 1st class is 17 euros.

The challenge to the imposed fine or "exemption request" should be directed to the Public Prosecutor, whose contact details are provided on the notice of contravention, within 45 days of receiving the notice. The original notice of contravention must be included with the exemption request.

Procedure for infringement in public transport
When a person commits an offense on public transport, such as failing to present a transport ticket, public action is extinguished through a transaction involving payment of a fixed indemnity to the operator (RATP, RTM, SNCF, etc.). These offenses are recorded by sworn agents of the operator.

The fixed indemnity amount varies based on the operators and offenses, but it cannot exceed the thresholds set by the regulatory authority for different punishable offenses. The indemnity is paid promptly to the controller, or if unavailable, the controller can gather the alleged offender's name and address to issue a contravention report. The offender has the option to pay the fixed indemnity later, with possible additional administrative fees.

The offender can send a challenge to the operator, who may accept or reject it. If rejected, the challenge is forwarded to the public prosecutor, initiating an ordinary procedure.