Judicial information (preparatory investigation)
Verified 08 October 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)
Judicial investigation is an in-depth phase of investigation in the most serious and complex cases of criminal procedure. It is entrusted to a investigating judge. We explain how judicial information works.
The judicial inquiry is a phase of the criminal investigation, conducted by the investigating judge and with the objective of gathering evidence, search for authors of infringements and establish the truth.
She is mandatory when a crime was committed. She is optional in material of offense and contravention. The judicial inquiry takes place in criminal matters if the case is complex. It is taking place with regard to contravention if the public prosecutor so requests.
Judicial investigation is conducted by a specialized judge, the investigating judge. He educates charging and discharging, that is to say that he must at the same time seek evidence of innocence and guilt of the person involved.
In order to carry out his mission, the investigating judge shall have powers of investigation important.
At the end of the judicial inquiry, if there are serious and consistent evidence against the indictment person, the investigating judge may request a trial.
The examining magistrate may be seised by the public prosecutor or by complaint with civil action of the victim. He cannot not grab himself.
By the public prosecutor
The public prosecutor shall refer the matter to the investigating judge a police or gendarmerie investigation or as a result of simple complaint of a victim.
The public prosecutor shall refer the matter to the investigating judge by means of a written document introductory statement. This document indicates the offenses to be investigated by the judge and identifies possible suspects.
By the victim
The examining magistrate may be seised directly by the victim of an offense only in the following 2 cases :
- The victim has previously file a complaint for this offense and the complaint was subsequently filed without follow-up. In this case, the victim must be in possession of the document of the public prosecutor entitled notice of dismissal.
- The complaint has since been forwarded to the public prosecutor more than 3 months and no returns were made. In this case, the victim must prove with a letter in RAR: titleContent or a receipt that she has sent her complaint for more than 3 months to the public prosecutor.
FYI
The victim of crime or press offense, of defamation or an offense under the electoral code may be brought directly before the investigating judge without having lodged a simple complaint.
Filing of the complaint with the constitution of civil party
The deposit of complaint with civil action is done by a dated and signed letter or by oral statement before the investigating judge.
Who shall I contact
Upon receipt of the complaint, the investigating judge shall set a logging. Its amount is determined according to the resources and expenses of the civil party.
If this deposit is not paid, the complaint is inadmissible.
Transmission of the complaint with the constitution of civil party to the public prosecutor
The investigating judge shall forward the case file to the public prosecutor to give its opinion on the need to open a judicial inquiry.
Before deciding, the public prosecutor may request an additional period of 3 months to continue the investigation. He can also ask the judge to hear the civil party and to invite him to produce documents in support of his complaint.
The public prosecutor can take several types of requisitions :
- If the offense committed requires an investigation, he takes requisitions to inform. The investigating judge then opens a judicial inquiry.
- If the acts committed do not allow to be penalized, it shall take requisitions from non-inform, that is to say, he asks the judge not to open a judicial inquiry.
- If the survey already carried out makes it possible to no criminal offense has been committed, it takes requisitions from dismissal.
- If a person may be subject to criminal prosecution but the public prosecutor does not wish to engage him, he then takes requisitions of refuse-inform (refusal to prosecute). In this case, the public prosecutor invites the civil party to bring the case before the court by direct quote.
The investigating judge may decide to open a judicial inquiry even if the public prosecutor requests the opposite. In this case, he must motivate his decision.
The investigating judge territorially competent is the court of justice of one of the following places:
- Place of commission of the infringement
- Place of residence of one of the persons suspected of having participated in the offense
- Place of arrest of the suspect (even if the person was arrested for another reason)
- Place of detention of the suspected person (even if the person is in detention for another reason).
FYI
Only some courts of law are competent for judicial inquiries.
The parties in the judicial information are the indictee, the witness assisted and the civil party.
The indicted is a status given by the investigating judge to a person suspected of having committed an offense and against which there are serious or consistent indications. As long as a suspect has not been charged, there remains one accused.
The witness assisted is a suspect to which there are indications that he may be guilty.
The civil party is the person victim of a criminal offense and who wishes to obtain compensation for his damage.
FYI
The witness and the respondent are not parties to the judicial inquiry. However, they may be heard at the initiative of the investigating judge.
The victim who has not filed a civil suit is also not a party to the judicial inquiry.
The investigating judge has extensive powers to carry out his mission and demonstrate the offense in order to bring the perpetrator to trial.
It may order investigative acts and issue warrants to compel an individual to appear before it. It can decide on the indictment of the offender. He may restrict his liberty by placing him in pretrial detention or order his placement under judicial supervision or under house arrest with electronic surveillance.
Order investigative acts
The investigating judge is the director of investigation, that is to say that it is responsible for gathering all the elements of the file.
To search for evidence, it can:
- Seize police or gendarmerie services by letter rogatory
- Hearing from the accused, victims and witnesses
- Organize confrontations between the accused, victims and witnesses
- Perform searches and carry out seizures (documents, computers, mobile phones...))
- Ask for expertise (DNA analysis, psychiatric analysis, computer ...) analysis
- Request the implementation wiretapping and/or organize surveillance operations
- Getting to the scene, organizing a reconstitution facts.
Indict
The investigating judge may indict a person suspected of having committed an offense, if there are serious or consistent evidence to him.
The public prosecutor may, at any time during the investigation, refer the case to the judge for new developments. In this case, the investigating judge summons the person already indictment to notify him of these additional facts and possibly to charge him. That's what we call the supplementary indictment.
The judge must place the suspected person under the status of witness assisted where the conditions for its indictment are not fulfilled.
Issue warrants
The investigating judge may issue different mandates :
- The research mandate authorizes the arrest of a person accused by the police or gendarmerie for the purpose of placing that person in police custody.
- The warrant of appearance is an act notified officially to a person to compel him to appear before the investigating judge.
- The warrant to bring is the order given to the police or gendarmerie services to bring before the investigating judge a person in respect of whom there are serious or consistent indications. This warrant can also be used to bring before the judge a person who has not respected a previous summons.
- The arrest warrant is the order given to the police or gendarmerie to search for a person, arrest him and take him to prison.
- The warrant of deposit is the order given to the head of penitentiary institution to receive and keep the person in indictment pre-trial detention.
Order judicial review or house arrest with electronic monitoring
The examining magistrate may place the person under indictment judicial review.
The person under judicial supervision must submit to obligations (for example: not going to certain places, not meeting certain people).
If the examining magistrate considers that judicial supervision is insufficient, he or she may introduce a measure house arrest with electronic surveillance (ARSE). This subpoena requires the indictment person to remain in a specific location.
Request pre-trial detention from the judge of liberty and detention
Exceptionally, if the judge considers that judicial review and house arrest are insufficient, he may request that the indictment person be placed in pre-trial detention.
In this case, it is the Judge of Liberties and Detention (JLD), seized by the examining magistrate, who decides on the placement in custody pre-trial detention.
If the JLD does not place the indictment person in pre-trial detention, it may issue a judicial review or an ARSE.
The indictment person, the assisted witness and the civil party have rights in the judicial inquiry.
FYI
The public prosecutor, which represents the interests of the business, must follow the progress of the judicial inquiry. His opinion is obligatory requested before most of the decisions taken by the investigating judge (e.g. on the application for release of a detainee).
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Indictment Person
Right to be assisted by counsel
The indictment person has the right to be assisted by a lawyer. She can choose it or ask for a lawyer court clerk.
Access and copy of the file
She has access to the instruction file.
It may request, upon receipt of its summons for its appearance or hearing, a copying parts of the file. It may also request a copy after its first appearance or hearing. Issuance must take place within the1 month from the request.
After each interrogation, confrontation or reconstitution, the lawyer of the indictment person receives a copy of the minutes, by any means.
Request for documents
The indictment person may request the examining magistrate to perform certain acts (hearing, confrontation, transport to the scene, expertise...).)
It may seek the annulment of certain acts by query to the investigative branch of the court of appeal.
Appeal against an order
The indictment person can do call orders issued by the investigating judge (order refusing an act, order for settlement ...).) The accused shall appeal on the spot to the court to the registrar of the investigating judge or since the prison registry if detained. He can also instruct his lawyer to appeal.
The Investigative Chamber of the Court of Appeal examine the call. It may confirm or annul the decision of the investigating judge.
Witness assisted
Right to be assisted by counsel
The witness assisted has the right to be assisted by a lawyer. He can choose it or ask for a lawyer court clerk.
Access and copy of the file
He has access to folder. His lawyer can ask for a copy of the file.
Request for documents
He may ask the examining magistrate to carry out acts (hearing and confrontation in particular).
The assisted witness may request the cancelation of documents from the procedure (an interrogation report, a wiretap, a police custody...).) This request is made by query addressed to the Examining Division of the Court of Appeal.
Who shall I contact
Appeal against an order
The assisted witness may call the order refusing an act (an expert opinion for example).
He must carry out the declaration of appeal by going to court with the registrar of the investigating judge.
Who shall I contact
The Investigative Chamber of the Court of Appeal examine the call. It may confirm or annul the decision of the investigating judge.
Civil party
The victim may bring a civil action throughout the procedure.
By becoming a civil party, the victim becomes a part in the proceedings, which gives him a number of rights (lawyer, request for documents, copy of the proceedings...).)
She may be assisted by a lawyer that she chooses. If her income is not sufficient, she can apply for legal aid.
Access and copy of the file
The civil party has access to the folder. It may request a copy of the file as soon as it is established without waiting to be summoned by the judge and throughout the procedure. Issuance must take place within the time limit of 1 month from the request.
The judge may oppose this application by order motivated.
Request for documents
It may ask the investigating judge to carry out acts (hearing, confrontation, transport to the scene, production of plays,...).)
She can ask the cancelation of documents from the procedure (a record of interrogation, a wiretap, a police custody...).) This request is made by query addressed to the Examining Division of the Court of Appeal.
Appeal against an order
The civil party may call orders issued by the investigating judge.
The call is made by a declaration to the registrar of the investigating judge. It shall be signed by the Registrar and by the civil party or his lawyer.
The Investigative Chamber of the Court of Appeal examine the call. It may confirm or annul the decision of the investigating judge.
It is the investigating judge who decides when the judicial inquiry is completed.
The law sets a foreseeable completion time area code:
- 1 year for a criminal investigation,
- 18 months for a criminal investigation.
During an examination at first appearance or at the first hearing of a civil party, the judge may indicate the time limit set by law or a shorter time limit than that set by law.
Once the indicated elapsed time, the accused and the civil party may ask the investigating judge to close the judicial inquiry. The investigating judge may accept or indicate that the judicial inquiry must continue. He must answer in the delay of 1 month from the receipt of the application,
Please note
The judge may decide to continue the judicial inquiry by reasoned order. A new request for closure may be made at the expiry of a 6 months delay.
In any case, the duration of the investigation cannot not exceed a reasonable period of time. The reasonableness of the duration should be examined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the seriousness of the facts, the complexity of the investigations and the exercise of the rights of the defense.
The president of the chamber of investigation of the court of appeal exercises control over the conduct of judicial inquiries. In particular, it shall ensure that the examining magistrate hearing the case within a reasonable time.
When he feels that his instruction is complete and regular, the examining magistrate shall issue a decision called settlement order.
The examining magistrate must examine whether there are charges against the indictment person which constitute an offense.
The settlement order is notified to the parties. They can make a appeal.
Settlement Order
The settlement order fence judicial information and divested the investigating judge.
According to the results of the investigation and the evidence gathered, the investigating judge shall issue a order of dismissal (no prosecution) or order for reference to the court of first instance.
Dismissal
The examining magistrate shall issue a dismissal order in any of the following cases:
- The facts do not constitute a offense
- No Authors is not identified
- There is no sufficient loads, that is to say that there are not enough indications with regard to the indictment person
- The accused acted in a self-defense. The dismissal order must specify the charges establishing the acts committed by the accused and their implications for the victim. The victim may seek redress in the context of a civil procedure.
- The indictee dies. The dismissal order must specify the evidence establishing the facts committed by the accused and their implications.
FYI
The public prosecutor may request the reopening of a judicial inquiry if new evidence appears and the facts are not prescribed.
Referral
If the information establishes that an offense has been committed, the investigating judge shall an order for reference to the competent court to judge the offense.
- If it is a contravention, the case shall be referred to the police court.
- If it is a offense, the case shall be referred to the criminal court.
- If it is a crime, the case shall be referred to the assize court or criminal court.
- If it is a crime committed by a minor over the age of 16, the case is referred to the court of assizes for minors.
Notification of the order
The order is notified to the parties, orally (with signature) or by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
Appeal against the order
The indictment and the plaintiff or their lawyers may appeal settlement orders.
The time limit for appeal is 10 days.
The declaration of appeal shall be made to the Registrar of the court which gave the decision (or at the registry of the penitentiary institution if the accused is detained).
Who shall I contact
It's there investigation chamber of the court of appeal hearing the appeal.
Who can help me?
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For further information
For more information on this subject, you can contact Allô Service Public.
Please note: the service does not have access to users' personal files and cannot therefore provide information on their progress.
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The informants who answer you belong to the Department of Justice.
For further information
House of Justice and LawTo be assisted
Lawyer
Rights of victims
Territorial jurisdiction of the investigating judge
Territorial jurisdiction of the poles of education
Powers of investigating judge, opening of information, rights of parties, requests for documents
Filing of a complaint with the constitution of civil party
Warrants issued by the investigating judge
Interrogation, indictment, access to file
Judicial review, house arrest, pre-trial detention
Applications for invalidity of documents or documents
Settlement orders (dismissal, referral to court and assize court)
Appeal of the orders of the investigating judge
The resumption of information on new charges
Territorial jurisdiction abandonment of family (Article 382)
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