Pretrial detention or unjustified house arrest: can we be compensated?

Verified 15 December 2025 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of Justice

Yes, you can be compensated if you have been the subject of a pretrial detention or a house arrest with electronic surveillance (ARSE) without being finally sentenced. If you wish to be compensated, you must submit a query argued to the first president of the court of appeal geographical location competent for your business. We present you the information to know.

In principle, any person who has undergone a harm due to a pretrial detention or a house arrest with electronic monitoring unjustified may claim compensation.

Pretrial detention andARSE: titleContent shall be considered unjustified where they are followed by:

  • Order of Dismissal
  • Decision to relaxed become definitive
  • Decision of acquittal become final.

FYI  

If you have been subjected to pretrial detention or abusive ARSE placement, the notification of the decision of dismissal, discharge or acquittal precise that you can make a claim for compensation.

Claims for compensation are automatically denied in certain circumstances, including if:

  • You weren't convicted just because you were declared criminally irresponsible
  • You weren't convicted because you were given a amnesty following your placement in pre-trial detention or under ARSE
  • You have been remanded in custody or placed under ARSE only because you have voluntarily accused yourself or allowed yourself to be wrongly accused in order to avoid a conviction of the true perpetrator
  • During your pre-trial detention, you were also in prison for another reason
  • You have not been convicted because, after your release from pre-trial detention or the end of ARSE placement, the offense was prescribed.

The payment of compensation is used to repair harm that you have suffered during pre-trial detention orARSE: titleContent. To have your harm assessed, you can ask for a judicial expertise.

Nature of the harm caused by pretrial detention or unjustified ARSE

The damage to be repaired may be a material damage which includes, inter alia, the following situations:

  • Loss of salary or income
  • Loss of opportunity (for example, loss of opportunity to interview for a job)
  • Lawyer's fees directly related to pre-trial detention or ARSE and the proceedings to end it
  • Transportation costs incurred by your family to come to see you in detention.

In addition, the compensation covers the non-material damage which includes the following situations:

  • Family distancing (for example, separation of a father and newborn)
  • The birth of a child during detention
  • The conditions of incarceration (for example, in case of prison overcrowding).

Warning  

It is essential to establish a link between pretrial detention or house arrest with electronic surveillance abusive and the harm you suffered.

Assessment of harm resulting from unjustified pre-trial detention or ESMA

If you wish to have your harm assessed, you can ask for a legal opinion from the first president of the court of appeal the competent authority on which the criminal jurisdiction or the investigating judge who issued the decision of dismissal, discharge or acquittal.

Who shall I contact

The request must take the form of a query and include the following:

  • Reasons for request and description of detention (pre-trial detention or ARSE, duration, etc.)
  • Type of harm suffered
  • Rationale for the need for expertise
  • Questions you want to ask the expert.

It must be accompanied by the decision of dismissal, acquittal or acquittal and all the documents proving the harm you have suffered (medical certificate, statements of relatives, etc.).

The first President of the Court of Appeal appoint an expert who must answer all the technical questions specified in their decision.

The expert's conclusions must be attached to your claim for compensation.

Claim for compensation for unjustified pre-trial detention or ESRA

To obtain repairs harm caused by pretrial detention or theARSE: titleContent unjustified, you must address a request to the first president of the court of appeal on which the criminal jurisdiction or the investigating judge who issued the decision of dismissal, acquittal or acquittal.

From the beginning of the procedure, you can be assisted by a lawyer. In case of low financial resources, you can apply to benefit from the'legal aid.

Who shall I contact

The request takes the form of a query containing the following:

  • Statement of facts
  • Amount of compensation claimed
  • Indications relevant to the examination of the application (date and type of court decision rendered, the court that issued the decision and the address to which it is possible to send you a notification)
  • Supporting documents and evidence (copy of the decision to dismiss, discharge or acquit, judicial expertiseetc.).

This request must be submitted to the registry of the court of appeal competent in a time limit for 6 months from the decision of dismissal, discharge or acquittal become definitive.

It can be:

  • Delivery directly to the transplant, against receipt
  • Sent by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
Who shall I contact

Decision on compensation for unjustified pre-trial detention or ARSE

The decision of the first President of the court of appeal intervenes at a public hearing (unless you object).

The first president of the court of appeal makes a reasoned decision which is notified :

  • Either by giving a copy against receipt (if you are present at the hearing)
  • Either by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (if you are absent from the hearing).

The first president of the Court of Appeal may decide to award you compensation for the damages you have referred to in your query.

They may also reject one or more of your claims or award you less compensation than you requested.

FYI  

The compensation is paid by the State.

If you do not agree with the decision of the first president of the Court of Appeal (for example: you consider that the amount of compensation awarded to you is too low), you can make a appeal to the National Commission for the Reparation of Detentions of the Court of Cassation.

For this, you have a period of 10 days from the notification of the decision of the court of appeal.

Your appeal must be directly delivered to the registry of the court of appeal that made the decision you are challenging. She cannot be sent by letter or registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (unless you are in prison).

After hearing your application, the National Commission for the Reparation of Detentions issues a decision. It cannot be the subject of a new appeal.

FYI  

Before the National Commission for the Reparation of Detentions, you may be assisted by a lawyer at the Council of State and the Court of Cassation. If you don't have the financial resources to pay his fees, you can eventually apply for legal aid.

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