Comptroller-General of places of deprivation of liberty

Verified 30 March 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of Justice

The Comptroller General of places of deprivation of liberty (CGLPL) is a independent administrative authority which intervenes to put an end to an infringement of the fundamental rights of persons deprived of their liberty. The CGLPL has the power to inspect the detention facilities involved. If you are deprived of your liberty or if you notice a violation of the rights of a person deprived of his liberty, you can refer the matter to the CGLPL. We present you the information to know.

The inspector-general of places of deprivation of liberty may be seized of a situation:

  • Which infringes on the fundamental rights of a person deprived of liberty or who has recently been deprived of liberty
  • And which is linked to the conditions of detention, custody, retention, transfer, the hospitalization of that person or the operation of a place of deprivation of liberty.

These are the following locations:

  • Prison facility (for example, a remand home, a juvenile facility)

Several situations may justify the intervention of the CGLPL: titleContent. This is the case, for example, when:

  • The conditions of detention or hospitalization are contrary to the fundamental rights of persons deprived of their liberty (poor hygiene conditions, poor reception of arrivals, overcrowding in prisons, etc.)
  • The person concerned encounters difficulties in accessing care, work, training or cultural activities
  • The health and/or safety of the person deprived of liberty is threatened (threats or violence by other inmates or by the staff of the institution)
  • The person deprived of liberty is transferred to a facility away from the home of his relatives so that they cannot visit him regularly.

FYI  

The CGLPL: titleContent may not intervene in the context of ongoing proceedings or in order to assess the relevance of a conviction judgment or a decision of the application sentencing judge.

If you are deprived of liberty and that you feel you have suffered a breach of your fundamental rights, you may refer the matter to the Comptroller-General of places of deprivation of liberty.

In addition, the CGLPL: titleContent may be seized by the following persons

  • A member of your family
  • Your lawyer
  • A witness
  • A staff member involved in the institution in which an infringement (or risk of infringement) of fundamental rights appears to have been committed
  • One legal person (e.g. an association) with the aim of respecting fundamental rights
  • Departments, Members of Parliament, Senators, president-eldersetc.

The CGLPL can also self-seize.

FYI  

Regardless of your status, you cannot be sanctioned for entering the CGLPL: titleContent and/or have provided him with information and documents that he needs in the course of his mission.

The CGLPL: titleContent may be seized by electronic means, by post or during visits to a place of deprivation of liberty.

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

By electronic means

You can contact the Comptroller General of places of deprivation of liberty online:

Referring places of deprivation of liberty to the Comptroller-General

The information you provide electronically is recorded electronically. However, they cannot be revealed by the CGLPL: titleContent.

By post

You can contact the Comptroller-General of places of deprivation of liberty by sending a letter to her.

This letter must mention:

  • Your identity and mailing address
  • The reasons why, in your opinion, an infringement or a risk of infringement of fundamental rights of a person deprived of liberty is constituted.

If you specify this in your application, the CGLPL: titleContent must refrain from revealing your name during his investigation.

Who shall I contact

  • Comptroller-General of places of deprivation of liberty

    12 rue Henri Rol-Tanguy

    CS 30026

    93109 MONTREUIL CEDEX

FYI  

Letters exchanged between a person deprived of liberty and the CGLPL: titleContent may not be supervised by the staff of the detention facility.

During the visits of the CGLPL

During the visits of the CGLPL: titleContent, persons deprived of their liberty, their relatives or staff members of the institution may request to speak with him or with one of the controllers of his team.

During this exchange, it is possible to set out the reasons suggesting that an infringement of the fundamental rights of a person deprived of liberty has taken place.

This type of maintenance is confidential.

However, if the CGLPL has obtained the consent of the person deprived of his liberty, he can discuss his situation with the competent authorities (example: head of a penitentiary institution, doctor).

Where the facts brought to his knowledge appear to infringe the fundamental rights of a person deprived of his liberty, the CGLPL: titleContent may visit the relevant custodial institution and carry out on-the-spot checks and then carry out an investigation.

Visits

The Comptroller-General of places of deprivation of liberty may freely choose the establishments he visits, taking into account reports of violations of the rights of the fundamental rights which have been transmitted to him.

Visits may take place in all places of deprivation of liberty located on French territory (including Mayotte, the Wallis and Futuna Islands, the French Southern and Antarctic Territories, French Polynesia and New Caledonia).

These visits can be made day or night, week or weekend.

They can be programmed or, on the contrary, take place without prior notice to the person in charge of the establishment.

It is impossible to oppose a visit of the CGLPL: titleContent except for a reason related to national defense, public safety or a natural disaster.

In such cases, the persons responsible for the place of deprivation of liberty must arrange another visit.

Investigation

During these visits, the CGLPL: titleContent may interview any person who is able to provide information on the reported infringement (or risk of infringement) of fundamental rights.

These exchanges take place in a confidential.

The GLPL may also request information and documents from the institution's management or from any person in a position to shed light on the situation.

In principle, this information and supporting documents must mandatory be delivered to him within a period to be fixed by him.

However, the head of the custodial institution may refuse to disclose such information and documents if they have a serious reason (e.g. national defense, professional secrecy of the lawyer, secrecy of the investigation or the statement).

FYI  

The CGLPL may also have access to information concerning the state of health of a person deprived of his liberty, if he has given his consent.

After each visit, the CGLPL: titleContent send a visit report to the ministers responsible for the institution in question.

This report mainly concerns the state, organization or functioning of the place of deprivation of liberty.

If it has found a serious breach offundamental rights of persons deprived of their liberty, it shall forward recommendations to the competent authorities (e.g. head of a penitentiary institution).

Those authorities must reply within a period to be fixed by the Council.

At the end of that period, the CGLPL shall verify whether or not the infringement of fundamental rights that has been reported to it has been brought to an end.

Please note

These reports and recommendations may be made public.

If he has knowledge of facts that could constitute a infringement (example: violence against an inmate), the CGLPL alerts the public prosecutor.

If a public official has committed an act that may result in disciplinary proceedings, the CGLPL shall notify the disciplinary bodies of the institution concerned.

The public prosecutor and disciplinary bodies must inform the CGLPL of the action they have taken.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region