The Legal Framework for Universal Jurisdiction in France Copyright © 2014 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org The Legal Framework for Universal Jurisdiction in France The Legal Framework for Universal Jurisdiction in France .................................................... 1 Jurisdictional Requirements ..................................................................................................... 2 Presence ........................................................................................................................... 2 Subsidiarity ....................................................................................................................... 3 Double Criminality..............................................................................................................4 Civil Party Procedure ..........................................................................................................4 Possible Legislative Reform ............................................................................................... 6 Barriers to Prosecution ............................................................................................................. 7 Immunity ........................................................................................................................... 7 Prosecutorial and Judicial Discretion ................................................................................ 10 The Legal Framework for Universal Jurisdiction in France On August 9, 2010, the French Code of Criminal Procedure was amended to incorporate the Rome Statute and extend the jurisdiction of French courts to include genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed after that date.1 The crimes are defined in line with the Rome Statute, although French law also criminalizes torture and enforced disappearance as distinct crimes and as constituent acts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.2 With the exception of war crimes, French courts only had jurisdiction over grave international crimes committed outside of France prior to that date where an international treaty obligated France to prosecute, such as the Convention against Torture.3 Two laws passed in 1995 and 1996 implemented United Nations Security Council Resolutions 827 and 955 establishing the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and gave French courts jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed in these two countries 4 or by Rwandan citizens in neighboring countries. 1 Loi n° 2010-930 du 9 août 2010 portant adaptation du droit pénal à l'institution de la Cour pénale internationale (“ICC Implementing Legislation”), No. 2010-930, entered into force on August 11, 2010, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do;jsessionid=DA7956739FD101F26E23CD144B032676.tpdjo02v_1?cidTexte=JORF TEXT000022681235 (accessed September 10, 2014). 2 Code Pénal (“French Penal Code”), entered into force on March 1, 1994, arts. 211-1, 212-1, 222-1, and 461-1 to 461-31, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCode.do?cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006070719 (accessed September 8, 2014), official English translation, 2005, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/content/download/1957/13715/version/4/file/Code_33.pdf (accessed September 8, 2014); Code de Procédure Pénale (“French Code of Criminal Procedure”), entered into force on March 2, 1959, arts. 689-2 and 689-13, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCode.do?cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006071154 (accessed September 9, 2014), official English translation, 2006, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/Traductions/en-English/Legifrance-translations (accessed September 9, 2014). Revised French Code of Criminal Procedure as of September 1, 2014, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCode.do;jsessionid=DA7956739FD101F26E23CD144B032676.tpdjo02v_1?cidTexte=LEGITEXT 000006071154 (accessed September 9, 2014). One interesting distinction with the Rome Statute is that French law requires “a concerted plan” to prove criminal responsibility for genocide and crimes against humanity. French law also does not make a distinction between war crimes committed during an international armed conflict and a non-international armed conflict and instead divides war crimes into two categories: war crimes against individuals and war crimes related to the way in which hostilities have been conducted. 3 French Code of Criminal Procedure, arts. 689 and 689-2. French courts did not have jurisdiction over grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions or other war crimes despite the fact that the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols contain an express obligation to investigate and prosecute or, alternatively, to extradite the person to another jurisdiction to face justice. Other crimes over which France had a duty to prosecute under international treaties, which were included in the French Code of Criminal Procedure, included terrorism (arts. 689-3, 689-9, 689-10), piracy (art. 689-5), hijacking (arts. 689-6 and 689-7), corruption of European officials (art. 689-8) and offenses committed by means of nuclear materials (art. 689-4). 4 Loi n° 95-1 du 2 janvier 1995 portant adaptation de la législation française aux dispositions de la résolution 827 du Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies instituant un tribunal international en vue de juger les personnes présumées responsables de violations graves du droit international humanitaire commises sur le territoire de l'ex-Yougoslavie depuis 1991 (“ICTY Law”), No. 95-1 of 1995, entered into force on January 2, 1995, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000532676&fastPos=1&fastReqId=1448169861&categorieLi 1 Jurisdictional Requirements At the same time that the Criminal Procedure Code was amended, four conditions were introduced to restrict French courts’ ability to exercise universal jurisdiction.5 The conditions vary depending on the crime, effectively creating two different legal frameworks: one that applies to cases involving torture, enforced disappearance, and crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and another for all other grave international crimes cases. The disparity is derived from France’s legal obligations under international treaties, in particular the aut dedere, aut judicare principle which requires states to prosecute certain crimes such as torture and enforced disappearance where they do not extradite a person to another state for trial.6 Nonetheless they create an arbitrary distinction and should be eliminated so that all grave international crimes are subject to the same legal requirements. Presence For torture and crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, courts have jurisdiction where the suspect is present in France at the time that a judicial investigation is opened.7 This allows judicial authorities to pursue a case even if the suspect flees the country after an investigation has been opened. In absentia trials are permitted under French law. In fact, the first two universal jurisdiction trials in France—that of former en=cid&oldAction=rechTexte (accessed September 10, 2014). Loi n° 96-432 du 22 mai 1996 portant adaptation de la législation française aux dispositions de la résolution 955 du Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies instituant un tribunal international en vue de juger les personnes présumées responsables d'actes de génocide ou d'autres violations graves du droit international humanitaire commis en 1994 sur le territoire du Rwanda et, s'agissant des citoyens rwandais, sur le territoire d'Etats voisins (“ICTR Law”), No. 96-432 of 1996, entered into force on May 22, 1996, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000742868&fastPos=1&fastReqId=1630566506&categorieL ien=cid&oldAction=rechTexte (accessed September 10, 2014). 5 French practitioners refer to these conditions as “les quatres verrous.” 6 As noted above, French courts did not have jurisdiction over grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions or other war crimes despite the fact that the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols contain an express obligation to investigate and prosecute or, alternatively, to extradite the person to another jurisdiction to face justice. 7 French Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 689-1. The law is not entirely clear on when the accused’s presence should be assessed by courts, leading to debate over whether presence should be required at the time a victim files a complaint with prosecutors or investigating judges or at the time a judicial investigation is actually opened by the prosecutor or investigating judge. France’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation, ruled that presence is required at the start of the proceedings,