Glossary
les assesseurs – professional or non-professional judges who sit in court with the head judge who hear the parties in court and participate in the deliberation to reach a verdict.
Audience - court session
le box -The French use an English word here, although the English use the word "dock" for the place corresponding to where the accused sits in a French court and ‘stand’ for the place where witnesses testify (which the French also call a box).
la chambre de l’instruction -criminal section of the court of appeal in charge of reviewing first level decisions
Collégialité - This is a principle by which judicial decisions are taken upon collective deliberation. A decision taken by a single judge is an exception to the rule.
Concours - a competitive examination, those obtaining the highest scores are placed in the limited number of vacant government positions or admitted to selective educational programs.
Cour d’Assises – the French court of original criminal jurisdiction, for serious offenses. This court is presided over by three magistrats who reach a verdict with a jury.
Cabinet du juge - chambers
Débats - arguments in court ; attention : misleading resemblance to "debate" in English.
Demande de nullité - a motion to exclude evidence.
Examining Magistrate - contrary to the work of examining magistrates in England or the United States, who study the evidence gathered by the police to determine the charge, the French juge d’instruction examines evidence to establish the facts of the case.
Formation - training, education
un Greffier – an officer of the court who fulfills administrative responsibilities.
Homologue - an equivalent, a person exercising a corresponding function to another, here in the other culture, the other language.
un Huissier – may be a court officer or an independent, and undertakes different responsibilities ranging from those of a bailiff to process serving.
instruction (preparatory instruction)- a period of preliminary investigation, under the responsibility of a judge, but not for the purpose of establishing a charge, rather to establish the facts of the case.
Judiciaire/juridique - judicial/legal
Juge - a term with multiple meanings, here it is a magistrat assis (seated), the kind of magistrat who gives a decision in court and is independant of the State.
Juge d’application des peines (le JAP) – a judge in charge of overseeing the conditions and enforcement of a prisoner’s sentence.
juge des enfants – a juvenile judge, a judge having jurisdiction in cases in which a minor has committed an offense or, in civil matters, to give care or supervision orders when a child is at risk.
juge d’instruction - a magistrat who must seek evidence in a case brought to his attention by the prosecution service or a victim, thus beginning a criminal investigation. He must determine whether there is sufficient evidence to bring a case to trial either in the Cour d’assises or the Tribunal correctionnel.
Justiciable(s) - those who are judged before a judge ; attention : misleading resemblance to "justiciable" in English, that is within the jurisdiction of a court.
Jurisdiction / Juridiction – misleading resemblance between the English and the French words. Jurisdiction deals with the authority of the court or judicial officer, as well as the area, scope and extent of this authority. In French, la juridiction* has an even wider use, and can sometimes replace the very word “court”.
La Loi Républicaine - an important notion in France which expresses the symbolic dimension of the law above the parties and above political divisions.
Magistrat - professionals of the law who either render decisions in justice (les magistrats du siège, the judiciary) or request justice on behalf of the State (les magistrats du parquet, the State prosecution service). The magistrats assis are called thus because they are seated (assis) to give decisions and never rise in court. The magistrats du parquet are also called magistrats debouts because they must stand (être debout) to declare the State’s demands. Be careful of the misleading resemblance with the English word, ‘magistrate’, who has minor judicial authority, a justice of the peace, or a judge in magistrates’ courts for example.
La Magistrature – denotes all the magistrats of France. The magistrature is a wider notion than the “judiciary” since it encompasses both judges and prosecutors. This word is not exactly the equivalent of the American “magistracy” which has several uses. For example, in its most extensive meaning, it includes public functionaries, whether legislative, executive or administrative, and in a more restrictive meaning, all officers charged with the application and enforcement of the laws. Sometimes, the magistracy refers to the body of the lowest judicial officers especially dealing with misdemeanors or preliminary enquiries in criminal prosecution cases (police judges or justices of the peace).
partie civile (constitution de partie civile, se constituer partie civile) – The French system offers people having suffered injury, as a result of another’s violation of the law, the possibility of taking advantage of a criminal proceeding to claim compensation. When the victim of such an act chooses to take this opportunity in a criminal proceeding, he declares himself (il se constitue) partie civile.
le plaider coupable – the French version of plea bargaining introduced by statute in 2003 allows a person accused of an offense to face a reduced sentence if he admits to the charge. This system which is carried out only in the presence of the prosecutor, the accused and his attorney, and does not involve any negotiation, has been subject to much criticism by people who consider the public court proceedings to be a sacred protection of equality for all citizens.
une plaidoirie finale - a closing, closing arguments, concluding remarks
Président - The président of the court is similar to a presiding judge in the U.S., but as he is usually assisted by assesseurs or assistants, who are also judges, it is more precise to refer to him as the president of this group of presiding judges.
Procureurs (Procureur de la République) – a prosecutor, representing the Ministère public (the State prosecution service) in court. (Prosecuting counsel, prosecuting attorney, district attorney ; substitut du procureur = assistant district attorney)
Roman Law, is often called “civil law” (droit civil) in France and many European countries which use this system. Thus, one must be careful of this misleading resemblance: “civil law” in the mouths of Europeans could mean either “not criminal law”, or “ not common law”, (i.e., the law of Roman tradition, codified law).
Tribunal correctionnel - criminal court having jurisdiction over misdemeanors. There are three degrees of offenses in French law: serious offenses (crimes) which go to the Cour d’assises, less serious offenses (délits) which are tried before the tribunal correctionnel, and minor violations (contraventions) which go to the tribunal de police, which deals with traffic offenses for example.