BOOK IV
SOME SPECIFIC PROCEEDINGS

TITLE X
INTERNATIONAL JUDICIAL CO-OPERATION

CHAPTER V
EXTRADITION

SECTION I
CONDITIONS OF EXTRADITION

Article 696-1
No surrender to a foreign government may be made of any person who is not the object of a prosecution or a conviction for an offence provided for by the present section.

Article 692-2
The French government may hand over any person who does not have French nationality and who is the subject of a prosecution initiated in the name of the requesting state or of a conviction imposed by its courts, to foreign governments, at their request, where this person is found on French national territory.
However, extradition is only granted if the offence for which the application has been made was committed:
- either on the territory of the requesting state by a national of this state or by a foreigner;
-or outside the territory of the requesting state by a national from that state;
-or outside the territory of the requesting state by a foreigner, where the offence features among those for which French law authorises prosecution in France, even if they are committed by a foreigner abroad.

Article 696-3
The offences which may result in extradition, whether this is the application for or the granting of extradition, are the following:
1° all offences punished as felonies by the law of the requesting state;
2° offences punished as misdemeanours by the law of the requesting state, where the maximum prison sentence incurred, under that law, is two years or more, or, in the case of a convicted person, where the sentence imposed by the court of the requesting state is at least two years' imprisonment.
In no case is extradition granted by the French government if the offence does not incur a punishment for felony or misdemeanour under French law.
Facts constituting attempt or complicity are subject to the above rules, on condition that they are punishable under laws of both the requesting and the requested state.
If the application concerns a number of offences committed by the requested person and these have not yet been tried, extradition is only granted if the maximum sentence incurred under the law of the requesting state, for all of the offences together, is not less than two years' imprisonment.

Article 696-4
Extradition is not granted:
1° where the requested person is of French nationality, as determined at the date of the offence for which the extradition is requested;
2° where the felony or misdemeanour has a political flavour, or where the circumstances reveal that the extradition is requested for political reasons;
3° where the felonies or misdemeanours were committed on French national territory;
4° where the felonies and misdemeanours, while they were committed outside French national territory, were prosecuted and finally disposed of in France;
5° where, under the law of the requesting state or French law, the limitation period for the prosecution has expired prior to the request for extradition, or the limitation period for the penalty has expired prior to the requested person's arrest, and in general whenever the right to prosecute in the requesting state is extinguished;
6° where the offence for which the extradition has been requested is punished by the law of the requesting state which imposes a penalty or a safety measure contrary to French public policy;
7° where the requested person would be tried in the requesting state by a court which does not provide fundamental procedural guarantees and protection for the rights of the defence;
8° where the felony or misdemeanour constitutes a military offence under Book III of the Military Justice Code.

Article 696-5
If, for one single offence, extradition is requested concurrently by several states, preference is given to the application by the state against whose interests the offence was directed, or on whose the territory it was committed.
If the concurrent applications concern different offences, in order to determine priority account is taken of all the circumstances and, in particular, the relative seriousness the offences and the place of their commission, as well as the respective dates of the applications and any undertaking which the requesting state may have made to re-extradite the person concerned.

Article 696-6
Subject to the exceptions provided for by article 696-34, extradition is only granted on condition that the extradited person will neither be prosecuted nor convicted for an offence other than the one for which the extradition was requested, this being committed prior to the surrender.

Article 696-7
Where a requested person is being prosecuted or has been convicted in France, and the French government is requested to extradite him for another offence, surrender is only carried out after the prosecution is over and, in the case of a conviction, after the sentence has been executed.
However, this provision does not prevent the requested person from being temporarily sent to appear before the courts of the requesting state, on the express condition that he will be sent back as soon as the foreign courts have ruled.
The provisions of the present article also apply where the requested person is subject to imprisonment in default under the provisions of Title VI of Book V of the present Code.

SECTION II
EXTRADITION PROCEDURE UNDER THE RULES GENERALLY APPLICABLE

Articles 696-8
Subject to the provisions of paragraph four, any application for extradition is sent to the French government through diplomatic channels and accompanied either by a decision recording a conviction (even by default) or by an act of criminal procedure unconditionally ordering or having the effect or unconditionally ordering the requested person to appear before the criminal court, or an arrest warrant or any other act having the same force and issued by the judicial authorities, provided that such acts contain a precise description of the offence for which they have been issued and the date of this offence.
The originals or certified copies of the documents mentioned above must be produced.
At the same time, the applicant government must provide a copy of the legal texts applicable to the subject-matter of the accusation. It may also attach a summary of the facts alleged.
Where it is made by a member state of the European Union, the application for extradition is directly sent by the competent authorities of that state to the Minister of Justice, who proceeds in accordance with article 696-9.

Article 696-9
An application for extradition is, after the documents have been checked, sent with the case file by the Minister for Foreign Affairs to the Minister of Justice who, after ensuring the legality of the application, sends it to the territorially competent prosecutor general. The latter sends it to the territorially competent district prosecutor to be executed.

Article 696-10
Any person apprehended following an extradition application must be transferred to the territorially competent district prosecutor within twenty-four hours. During this period, he enjoys all the rights guaranteed by articles 63-1 to 63-5.
After confirming the identity of the person, the judge informs him in a language he understands that he is the subject of an extradition application, and that he will appear before the territorially competent prosecutor general within seven days of his appearance before the district prosecutor.
The district prosecutor also informs him that he may be assisted by an advocate of his choice, or, failing this, by an advocate appointed ex officio by the bâtonnier of the bar. The advocate is immediately informed, using any available means. The person is also advised that he may have an interview with the designated advocate immediately.
A note of this notification is made in the official record, under penalty of nullity. The record is immediately sent to the prosecutor general.
The district prosecutor orders the incarceration of the requested person, unless he feels that his appearance at all the stages of the proceedings is sufficiently guaranteed.

Article 696-11
Where his incarceration has been ordered, the requested person is transferred, if necessary, and entered on the extradition prison register at the remand prison for the appeal court in whose jurisdiction he has been apprehended.
This transfer must take place within a period of four days from the person's appearance before the district prosecutor.

Article 696-12
The documents produced to support an extradition application are sent by the district prosecutor to the prosecutor general. Within the seven-day time period mentioned in the second paragraph of article 696-10, the prosecutor general notifies the requested person, in a language he understands, of the ground on which the arrest has been made, and informs him of his right to consent to or to oppose his extradition, and the legal consequences of consenting to extradition.
Where the requested person has already requested the assistance of an advocate, and the latter has duly been summoned, the prosecutor general receives the statements of the person and his counsel, of which an official record is drafted.
If not, the judge reminds the requested person of his right to choose an advocate or to request that one be appointed for him ex officio. The chosen advocate, or where one has been appointed ex officio, the bâtonnier of the bar, is immediately informed of this choice by any available means. The advocate may immediately consult the case file and freely communicate with the requested person. The prosecutor general receives the statements of the person concerned and of counsel, of which an official record is drafted.

Article 696-13
Where the requested person has declared to the prosecutor general that he consents to his extradition, the investigating chamber is immediately seised of the case. The requested person appears before it within five working days from the date of his presentation before the prosecutor general.
At the appearance of the requested person, the investigating chamber confirms his identity and receives his statements. This is recorded in the official record.
The hearing is public, unless this would interfere with the orderly conduct of the proceedings taking place, the interests of a third party or human dignity. If this is so, the investigating chamber, at the request of the public prosecutor, the requested person or of its own motion, rules by means of a decree delivered in chambers.
The public prosecutor and the requested person are heard, the latter assisted by his advocate, if applicable, and, where necessary in the presence of an interpreter.

Article 696-14
Where, at his appearance, the requested person declares his consent to be extradited and the legal conditions for extradition are fulfilled, the investigating chamber, after informing the person of the legal consequences of his consent, formally acknowledges this within seven days from the date of his appearance, unless additional information has been ordered.
The investigating chamber's ruling is not open to appeal or other challenge.

Article 696-15
Where the requested person has declared to the prosecutor general that he does not consent to his extradition, the investigating chamber is immediately seised of the proceedings. The requested person appears before the chamber within a period of ten working days from the time of his appearance before the prosecutor general.
The provisions of the second, third and fourth paragraphs of article 696-13 are applicable.
If, at his appearance, the requested person declares that he does not consent to being extradited, the investigating chamber delivers a reasoned opinion on the extradition application. Unless additional information has been ordered, it delivers its opinion within one month from the requested person's appearance before it.
This opinion is unfavourable if the court feels that the legal conditions have not been fulfilled or if there is an obvious error.
A cassation application against the opinion of the investigating chamber may be based only on errors of form which have the effect of depriving the opinion of the essential conditions for his legal existence.

Article 696-16
The investigating chamber may, in an unappealable decision, authorise the requesting state to participate in the hearing at which the extradition application is being examined, through the intermediary of a person approved by the aforesaid state for this purpose. Where the requesting state is authorised to intervene, it does not thereby become party to the proceedings.

Article 696-17
If a reasoned opinion of the investigating chamber rejects the extradition application and this opinion is final, extradition cannot be granted.
The requested person is then automatically released, unless he is detained for another reason.

Article 696-18
In cases other than those provided for by article 696-17, extradition is authorised by a decree from the Prime Minister taken on the advice of the Minister of Justice. If, within one month of the notification of this decree to the requesting state the requested person has not been received by the agents of this state then, except in cases of force majeure, he is released and may no longer be requested in connection with the same matter.
An appeal lodged on the grounds of abuse of authority in relation to the decree mentioned in the previous paragraph must under penalty of foreclosure be lodged within one month. Making a request for administrative clemency against this decree does not stop the time running in respect of legal remedies.

Article 696-19
Release may be requested of the investigating chamber at any time according to the forms provided for by articles 148-6 and 148-7.
The advocate of the person concerned is summoned, by recorded delivery letter with request for acknowledgement of receipt, at least forty-eight hours before the date of the hearing. The investigating chamber rules as soon as possible and no later than twenty days from receiving the application, having heard the public prosecutor as well as the requested person or his advocate, and by making a ruling as provided for by article 199. If the release application is lodged by the requested person within forty-eight hours of his incarceration in the extradition prison, the time limit allowed for the investigating chamber to rule is reduced to fifteen days.
When it orders the release of a requested person the investigating chamber may also, as a security measure, oblige the person concerned to submit to one or more of the requirements listed in article 138
Prior to his release, the requested person must register his address with the investigating chamber or the prison governor. He is informed that must indicate any change of declared address to the investigating chamber in a recorded delivery letter with request for acknowledgement of receipt. He is also informed that any summons or notification made to his last declared address is considered to have been made to him in person.
A note of this information, as well as the declaration of address, is made either in the official record or in a document which is immediately sent, either in its original form or as a certified copy, by the prison governor to the investigating chamber.

Article 696-20
The revocation of judicial supervision or its modification may be ordered at any time by the investigating chamber under the conditions provided for by article 199, either of its own motion, or on the submission of the prosecutor general, or, after hearing the opinion of the prosecutor general, at the request of the requested person.
The investigating chamber rules within twenty days of being seised.

Article 696-21
If the requested person intentionally evades the obligations of judicial supervision of it, having benefited from release without judicial supervision it seems that he clearly intends to evade the extradition request, the investigating chamber may, on the request of the public prosecutor, issue a warrant for his arrest.
The provisions of article 74-2 are then applicable, the attributes of the district prosecutor and the liberty and custody judge set out in that article being respectively given to the prosecutor general and the president of the investigating chamber or a counsellor designated by him.
Where the person concerned has been apprehended, the case must be examined at the first public hearing and no later than ten days from his being placed in custody.
The investigating chamber confirms if necessary the withdrawal of the judicial supervision measures or the withdrawal of release of the person concerned.
The public prosecutor and the requested person are heard, the latter assisted, if applicable, by his advocate, and, if necessary, in the presence of an interpreter.
The expiry of the time limit mentioned in the second paragraph entails the automatic release of the person concerned.

Article 696-22
If the requested person is at liberty when the government's decision authorising the extradition becomes unappealable, the prosecutor general may order the search for and the arrest of the person concerned, and his placement on the extradition prison register. Where the person concerned has been apprehended, the prosecutor general immediately gives notice of his arrest to the Minister of Justice.
The surrender of the requested person to the requesting state takes places within seven days of the date of his arrest, failing which he is automatically released.

Article 696-23
In urgent cases and at the direct request of the competent authorities of the requesting state, the territorially competent district prosecutor may order the temporary arrest of a requested person for the purposes of extradition by the said state, and his placement on the extradition prison register.
The request for temporary custody, sent by any means giving rise to a written record, notes the existence of one of the documents mentioned in article 696-8 and records the intention of the requesting state to send an extradition application. It includes a brief summary of the matters of which the requested person is accused and, in addition, states his identity and nationality, the offence for which the extradition will be requested, the date and place it was committed, and, as applicable, the penalty incurred or the penalty imposed, and, if appropriate, that part of the sentence left to serve, and, where applicable, the nature and the date of any steps that have stopped the prescription period from running. A copy of this application is sent by the requesting state to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The district prosecutor immediately informs the Minister of Justice and the prosecutor general of this arrest.

Article 696-24
A person taken into taken custody under the provisions of article 696-23 is released if, within thirty days of his arrest, where this was done at the request of the competent authorities of the issuing state, the French government has not received any of the documents mentioned in article 696-8.
If the aforementioned documents later reach the French government, the proceedings are restarted, in accordance with articles 696-9 onwards.

BOOK IV
SOME SPECIFIC PROCEEDINGS

TITLE X
INTERNATIONAL JUDICIAL CO-OPERATION

CHAPTER V
EXTRADITION

SECTION IV
THE EFFECTS OF EXTRADITION

Article 696-34
By way of exception to the provisions of article 696-6, the speciality rule does not apply where the requested person waives this under the conditions provided for by articles 696-28 and 696-40 or where the French government gives its consent under the conditions provided for by article 696-35.
This consent may be given by the French government even if the case or matter over which the request was generated is not one of the offences listed in article 696-3.

Article 696-35
Where the requesting government seeks, in respect of an offence earlier than the extradition, permission to prosecute or to execute a sentence in relation to the surrendered person, the opinion of the investigating chamber before which the requested person had appeared must be formulated solely on the basis of the documents sent in support of the new application.
The foreign government also sends to the investigating chamber documents containing the surrendered person's observations, or his statement that he does not intend to present any. These explanations may be supplemented by an advocate chosen by the individual, or who has been nominated ex officio.

Article 696-36
Extradition obtained by the French government is null and void if it takes place out with the conditions laid down by the present chapter.
As soon as the extradited person is incarcerated, the district prosecutor advises him of his right to apply for the extradition to be declared null and void subject to the conditions of form and the time limits provided for by the present article, and that he has the right to choose an advocate or to have one appointed for him ex offico.
The nullity of the extradition is pronounced, even on its own motion, by the trial court within the jurisdiction of which the extradited person comes after his surrender or, if he comes within the jurisdiction of no trial court, by the investigating chamber. Where the extradition has been granted in order to execute an arrest warrant issued in the course of a current judicial investigation, the investigating chamber competent is the one in the area where the warrant was issued.
An application for nullity lodged by the extradited person must, under penalty of inadmissibility, be reasoned and be the subject of a statement made at the clerks' office of the competent court within ten days of the notice provided for in the second paragraph.
An official record of this statement is drafted and signed by the clerk and the applicant or his advocate. If the applicant is unable to sign, this is noted by the clerk.
Where the applicant or his advocate do not reside in the jurisdiction of the competent court, this statement to the clerks' office may be made by means of a recorded delivery letter with request for acknowledgement of receipt.
Where the applicant is in custody, the request may also be made by means of a statement made before the prison governor. An official record of this statement is drafted, which is signed by the prison governor and by the applicant. If the latter is unable to sign, this is noted by the prison governor. The original or a copy of the official record is immediately sent to the clerks' office of the court seised.

Article 696-37
The courts mentioned in article 696-36 assess the qualification given to the facts in respect of which the extradition application was made.

Article 696-38
Where the extradition is annulled, the extradited person, if he is not sought by the requested government, is released and may only be further proceeded against either in relation to the matters for which his extradition was requested or in relation to earlier matters, if within thirty days of his release he is arrested in French national territory.

Article 696-39
A surrendered person is considered to be unreservedly subjected to the laws of the requesting state in relation to any offence committed prior to the extradition and different from the offence in relation to which he was extradited if he had the chance to leave the territory of the requesting state within thirty days of his final release.

Article 696-40
Where the French government has obtained the extradition of a person in accordance with the convention of 27 September 1996 relating to extradition between the member states of the European Union, a person thus extradited may be prosecuted or convicted for an offence committed prior to the surrender other than the one for which he was extradited if he expressly waives, after his surrender, his right to the benefit of the speciality rule in the following conditions.
The waiver must refer to specified offences committed prior to the surrender. It is irrevocable. It is made before the investigating chamber of the appeal court in whose jurisdiction the person concerned is incarcerated or resides.
At the appearance of the person extradited, for which the hearing is in public, the investigating chamber notes the person's identity and receives his statements. An official record is drafted of this. The person concerned, assisted by his advocate if there is one, and if necessary by an interpreter, is informed by the investigating chamber of the legal consequences of his waiver of the speciality rule in relation to his position under criminal law and of the irrevocable nature of the waiver given.
If, at his appearance, the extradited person declares that he waives his right to the speciality rule, the investigating chamber, after hearing the public prosecutor and the person's advocate, formally acknowledges this. The investigating chamber's ruling details the matters in relation to which the waiver has been made.

Article 696-41
Where the extradition of a foreigner has been obtained by the French government and the government of a third party country in turn petitions the French government for extradition of the same individual in relation to a matter prior to the extradition, other than that tried in France, and not related to it, the government only agrees, if there is a reason to do so, after obtaining the consent of the country originally granting extradition.
However, this condition does not obtain where the extradited person has had the chance to leave French territory during the time period provided for by article 696-39.

SECTION V
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Article 696-42
The extradition by means of transfer to French territory or vessels belonging to French marine services of a non-French national surrendered by another government is authorised by the Minister of Justice, on a simple request made through diplomatic channels, supported with documents necessary to establish that neither a political nor a purely military misdemeanour is involved.
This authorisation may only be granted to those states which, within their own territory, extend the same facility to the French government.
Transport is carried out under the escort of French agents, and at the expense of the requesting government.

Article 696-43
An investigating chamber which has ruled on an extradition application decides whether it is appropriate to transfer all or part of any securities, assets, money or other recovered objects to the requesting government.
This transfer may take place even if the extradition cannot take place because the requested individual has died or disappeared.
The investigating chamber orders the restitution of papers and other objects set out above which have no bearing on the matters of which the requested person is accused. It rules on the claims of third party holders and other eligible parties, if these are made.

Article 696-44
Where, in criminal proceedings taking place abroad, a foreign government judges it necessary for a procedural step or a judgment against an individual who resides in French national territory to be notified to him, the document is sent in accordance with the forms provided for by articles 696-8 and 696-9, accompanied, where applicable, by a French translation. The service is made in person, at the request of the public prosecutor. The original record of the service is sent to the requesting government through the same channels.

Article 696-45
Where, in criminal proceedings carried out abroad a foreign government judges it necessary to receive exhibits or documents held by the French authorities, the application for these is sent in accordance with the forms provided for by articles 696-8 and 696-9. Unless any particular considerations suggest otherwise this request is granted, on condition that the exhibits and documents are returned as quickly as possible.

Article 696-46
Where the hearing of a witness resident in France is judged necessary by a foreign government, the French government, seised of an application sent in the forms provided for by articles 696-8 and 696-9, binds him to respond to the summons that is sent to him.
Nevertheless, the summons is only received and served on the condition that the witness may not be prosecuted or detained in respect of matters that took place prior to his hearing.

Article 696-47
The sending of detained individuals, in order to carry out a confrontation, must be requested in the forms provided for by articles 696-8 and 696-9. Unless any particular considerations suggest otherwise this request is granted, on the condition that said detainees are returned as quickly as possible.