TITLE
PRELIMINARY ARTICLE

III
...
Every convicted person has the right to have his conviction examined by a second tribunal.

BOOK II
TRIAL COURTS

TITLE I
THE ASSIZE COURT

CHAPTER IX
APPEAL FROM DECISIONS OF THE ASSIZE COURT AT FIRST INSTANCE

SECTION I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 380-1
Decisions by the assize court in the first instance imposing convictions may be appealed from as provided for by the present chapter.
This appeal is brought before another assize court, nominated by the criminal chamber of the Court of Cassation. This assize court proceeds to re-examine the case according to the terms and the conditions set out in chapters II to VII of the present title.
The court rules without the presence of jurors in the following cases:
1° Where the accused, committed to the assize court solely for a misdemeanour related to a felony, is the only appellant;
2° Where the appeal from the public prosecutor's office against a conviction of an acquittal concerns a misdemeanour related to a felony, and no appeal has been lodged against the felony conviction.

Article 380-2
The right to appeal belongs to:
1º The accused;
2º The public prosecutor;
3º The legally responsible person, as regards his civil interests; 4º The civil party, as regards his civil interests;
5º The public services, where they have prosecuted, and where the public prosecutor has lodged an appeal. The prosecutor general may also appeal against decisions of acquittal.

Article 380-3
The assize court, when dealing with a prosecution on appeal, may not impose a more severe punishment on the accused where the appeal is brought by the accused alone.

Article 380-4
During the time limit for an appeal and during the appeal itself, execution of the decision reached in the criminal proceedings is suspended.
However, the committal order remains in force against a convicted person sentenced to imprisonment, subject to the provisions of the second paragraph of article 367.

Article 380-5
Where the assize court is not seised of an appeal against the outcome of the prosecution, any appeal lodged by one party against the decision in the civil action only is brought before the appeal division of the correctional court. Articles 380-14 and 380-15 are not applicable.

Article 380-6
The assize court trying a civil action on appeal may not worsen the position of the accused where it is only the accused, the person responsible under civil law or the civil party who has brought the appeal.
The civil party is not entitled to make any new claims by virtue of the appeal. However, he may ask for increased damages in respect of any harm suffered since the first judgment. Even when no appeal has been lodged against the ruling on the civil action, the victim who was on record as the civil party in the first instance may exercise the rights granted to the civil party before the assize court seised of the appeal until the closure of the proceedings. He may also ask for the provisions of the present paragraph to be applied, as well as those of article 375.

Article 380-7
During time limit for an appeal and during the appeal itself, execution of the judgment on the civil action is suspended, subject to the provisions of article 374.

Article 380-8
Where the assize court ruling at first instance on a civil action has ordered the provisional payment, in whole or in part, of the damages awarded, this provisional enforcement may be suspended, in case of appeal, by the first president, ruling summarily where the consequences of enforcement could be manifestly excessive. The first president may make the suspension of the provisional enforcement conditional on the provision of a guarantee, real or personal, sufficient to cover all compensation.
Where the provisional enforcement has been refused by the court ruling on the civil action, or where provisional enforcement has not been asked for, or where it has been requested and the court has failed to rule upon it, it may be granted, in appeal cases, by the first president ruling summarily.
For the application of the provisions of the present article, the competent judge is the first president of the appeal court of the area where the assize court appointed to deal with the appeal sits.

SECTION II
TIME LIMITS AND FORMS FOR APPEALS

Article 380-9
An appeal is lodged within ten days of the judgment being pronounced.
However, the time limit runs only from the notification of the judgment to any party who was not present or represented at the hearing when the judgment was delivered (this being limited to cases where the party or his representative were not informed of the date when the ruling would be made).

Article 380-10
Where one party has appealed within the time limits defined above, the other parties have an extra five days to lodge an appeal.

Article 380-11
The accused may withdraw his appeal at any time before his interrogation by the presiding judge provided for in article 272.
This withdrawal renders the accompanying appeals formulated by the district prosecutor or the other parties null and void.
The withdrawal of the appeal is noted in an order by the president of the criminal chamber of the Court of Cassation, where he has been seised in accordance with article 380-1 or in a ruling from the president of the assize court.
The invalidation of the accused's appeal also follows where the president of the assize court takes official notice that the accused has fled and cannot be found before the opening of the hearing, or while it is taking place.

Article 380-12
The notice of appeal must be made to the court office of the assize court which delivered the contested judgment.
It must be signed by the clerk and the appellant himself, by an advocate, a legal officer or by an authorised representative. In the latter case, the power of proxy is annexed to the document drafted by the clerk. If the appellant cannot sign it, this fact is recorded by the clerk.
It is copied into a public register intended for this purpose, and any person has the right to have a copy delivered to him.
Where the appeal is entered by the prosecutor general and the assize court's seat is not the same as the court of appeal's, the notice of appeal, signed by the prosecutor general, is sent forthwith, as an original or a copy, to the court office at the court of assizes. It is copied into the register provided for in the previous paragraph, and appended to the document drafted by the clerk.

Article 380-13
Where the appellant is in custody, the appeal may be entered by means of a statement made to the prison governor.
This statement is certified, dated and signed by the prison governor. It is also signed by the appellant. If he cannot sign it, this is officially noted by the governor.
This document is immediately sent, as an original or a copy, to the court office at the court of assizes which delivered the challenged decision. It is also copied into the register provided for in the third paragraph of article 380-12 and appended to the document drafted by the clerk.

SECTION III
DESIGNATION OF THE ASSIZE COURTS TO HEAR CASES ON APPEAL

Article 380-14
As soon as the appeal has been lodged, the public prosecutor immediately sends the contested judgment to the court office of the criminal chamber of the Court of Cassation, together with any observations, the challenged decision and, if necessary, the case file of the proceedings.
In the month following the receipt of the appeal, the criminal chamber appoints an assize court to rule on the appeal, after obtaining the written observations of the public prosecutor, the parties or their advocates.
Proceedings then follow as in a case of appeal following cassation.
By way of exception to the provisions of the second paragraph of article 380-1, where an appeal has been lodged against an assize court judgment delivered in one of France's overseas départements, or New Caledonia, French Polynesia or the Wallis and Fortuna Islands, the criminal chamber may appoint the same assize court, made up of different members, to hear the appeal. The provisions of the present paragraph are also applicable in cases where judgments given by the felony court of Mayotte or Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon are appealed president of the felony court ruling on appeal, and if necessary the judge-assessors who form the court, are carried out by designated advisers from a list drafted for each calendar year, by the first president of the appeal court of Paris, or, for the felony court of Mayotte, by the first president of the appeal court of Saint-Denis de Reunion.

Article 380-15
If the criminal chamber of the Court of Cassation finds that the appeal was not formulated within the time limits provided for by the law or was brought against a judgment not subject to appeal, it states that there is no reason to appoint an assize court responsible for ruling on appeal.

BOOK II
TRIAL COURTS

TITLE II
THE TRIAL OF MISDEMEANOURS

CHAPTER II
APPEAL COURT RULINGS IN MISDEMEANOUR MATTERS

SECTION I
EXERCISE OF THE RIGHT TO APPEAL

Article 496
Judgments made in misdemeanour matters may be challenged by appeal. The appeal is brought before the appeal court.

Article 497
The right to appeal belongs to:
1° the defendant;
2° the person liable under civil law but in respect of civil claims only; 3° the civil party, in respect of his civil claims only;
4° the district prosecutor;
5° governmental agencies, in cases where they have prosecuted; 6° the prosecutor general attached to the appeal court.

Article 498
Except in the case set out in article 505, the appeal is filed within ten days from the pronouncement of any decision rendered adversarially.
However, in respect of the following, the time-limit for appeal runs only from the service of the judgment, however this was carried out:
1° for any party not present or represented at the hearing when the judgment was read, but only where this party or his representative was not notified of the day when the judgment would be read;
2° for any defendant who was tried in his absence, but after the hearing of an advocate present to conduct his defence, without, however, being in possession of a representation order signed by the defendant;
3° for any defendant who has failed to appear, in the circumstances mentioned in the fifth paragraph of article 411,, where his advocate was also not present.
The same applies for the cases provided for in articles 410 and 494-1, subject to the provisions of article 498-1.

ARTICLE 498-1
For a judgment imposing a sentence of immediate imprisonment or a partially suspended prison sentence, delivered in the conditions provided for by article 410 and which has not been notified to any person, the time limit for appeal starts to run from the notification of the judgment made to the domicile, the town hall or the public prosecutor only subject to the provisions of the second paragraph. The judgment becomes final at the expiry of this time limit.
If, despite the notice signifying the delivery of the registered letter or the receipt provided for by articles 557 and 558, or any enforcement action or notice given in accordance with article 560, it is the case that the defendant has not been informed of the notification, the appeal, in respect of the civil claim as well as of the criminal conviction, remains admissible until the expiry of the enforcement period of the sentence, the time limit for the appeal starting from the date on which the defendant came to know of the sentence.
If the person has been imprisoned in execution of the sentence after the expiration of the ten-day time limit set out in the first paragraph and he lodges an appeal according to the provisions of the second paragraph, he nevertheless remains imprisoned under the pre-trial detention regime and without prejudice to his right to lodge bail applications, until the hearing before the appeal court.
The provisions of the present article are also applicable in case of reiterated absence.

Article 499
If the judgment was made by default or after a reiterated absence, the time limit for appeal runs only from the service of the judgment, however this was done.

Article 500
In the event of an appeal filed by one of the parties within the time limits stated above, the other parties have an additional five days in which to lodge an appeal.

Article 500-1
If it takes place within a month of the appeal, the defendant's or the civil party's withdrawal of his principal appeal leads to the voiding of any incidental appeals, including that of the public prosecutor, if this withdrawal comes in the form provided for the appeal statement. An incidental appeal is one filed within the time limit set out in article 500, and also an appeal filed, after a previous appeal, within the time limits provided for in articles 498 or 505, where the appellant specifies that it is an incidental appeal. In all cases, the public prosecutor may at any time withdraw an appeal filed after that of the defendant, when the latter has withdrawn his. The withdrawal of an appeal is noted in a ruling by the president of the chamber for correctional appeals.

Article 501
Where the correctional court rules on an application for a release in accordance with articles 148-1 and 148-2, and also where it rules on an application for the cancellation or variation of judicial supervision, the appeal must be filed within twenty-four hours.

Article 502
The appeal must be filed with the clerk of the court which made the contested decision.
It must be signed by the clerk and by the appellant himself, or by an attorney attached to the court which made the ruling, or by an advocate, or by an authorised legal representative; in this last case the power of attorney is attached to the act drafted by the clerk. If the appellant cannot sign, the clerk makes a note of this.
It is entered in a public register kept for this purpose and any person has the right to ask for a copy to be delivered to him.

Article 503
Where the appellant is detained, the appeal may be filed by means of a statement made to the prison governor.
This statement is recorded, dated and signed by the prison governor. It is also signed by the appellant. If the latter cannot sign, this is noted by the prison governor.
This original document or a copy of it is sent forthwith to the court office of the court which made the contested decision. It is transcribed into the register provided for by the third paragraph of article 502 and attached to the instrument drafted by the clerk.

Article 503-1
Where he is free, a defendant who is lodging an appeal must declare his personal address. He may, however, substitute the address of a third party responsible for receiving the summons, corrections and notifications which will be sent to him, if he produces the consent of the third party. This statement is made by the advocate of the defendant if it is the latter who is lodging the appeal.
In the absence of any such statement, the address that appears on the ruling delivered at first instance is considered to be the defendant's address.
The defendant or his advocate must indicate any declared change of address to the district prosecutor in a recorded delivery letter with request for acknowledgement of receipt, until the final judgment on the case has been delivered.
Any summons or notification made to the defendant's last declared address is considered to have been made in person, and any defendant who does not appear at the hearing without a reason considered to be valid by the appeal court is tried adversarially subject to notification.
If the defendant, who is detained at the time of the appeal, is released before his case has been examined by the appeal court, he must make the statement of address provided for by the present article prior to his release in the presence of the prison governor.

Article 504
An application stating the grounds for appeal may be sent within the time limits set out for the filing of an appeal with court office. It is signed by the appellant or by an advocate registered with a bar association, or by an attorney, or by a person with a specific power of attorney.
The application is sent by the district prosecutor to the prosecutor at the appeal court, together with the procedural documents, as quickly as possible.
If the defendant is detained, he is also transferred, as quickly as possible, upon the order of the district prosecutor, to the remand prison of the place where the appeal court sits.

Article 505
The prosecutor general files his appeal by a notification made either to the defendant, or to the person civilly liable for the misdemeanour, within two months from the day the judgment is read.

Article 505-1
Where an appeal is lodged after the end of the time periods provided for by articles 498, 500 ad 505, where the appeal is groundless or where the appellant has abandoned his appeal, the president of the chamber for correctional appeals makes of his own motion a ruling declaring the appeal inadmissible, which is unappealable.

Article 506
During the time limits for appealing, and during the appeal itself, the enforcement of the judgment is suspended, subject to the provisions of articles 464 (second and third paragraphs), 464-1, 471, 507, 508 and 708.

Article 507
Where the correctional court rules by a judgment separate from the judgment on the merits, an appeal is immediately admissible if this judgment puts an end to proceedings.
Where this is not so, and until the expiry of the time limit for appeal, the judgment is not enforceable and the correctional court may not rule on the merits.
If an appeal is not filed, or if before the expiry of the appeal time limit the appellant party has not deposited with the court office an application to set aside under the following paragraph, the judgment is enforceable and the correctional court rules on the merits.
The appellant party may file with the court office before the expiry of the appeal time limit an application sent to the president of the correctional appeals division with a view to having the appeal declared immediately admissible.

Article 508
The clerk informs the correctional court's president of the filing of this application. The judgment is not enforceable and the correctional court may not decide on the merits of the case until a decision has been made on such an application.
As soon as the clerk has received the appeal and the application, he sends the latter to the president of the correctional appeals division together with a certified copy of the judgment and of the appeal document.
The president rules on the application, by a non-reasoned order, within eight days from receiving the case file.
If he dismisses the application, the judgment is enforceable and the correctional court rules on the merits. No appeal is admissible against the president's order and the appeal is only heard at the same time as any appeal filed against the judgment on the merits.
If, in the interest of public order or the proper administration of justice, the president grants the application, he fixes the date upon which the appeal will be heard.
The appeal court must rule within one month from the president's order, without it being possible to raise before it any objection based on the fact that the appeal against the contested decision is not suspensive. In the latter case, execution of the judgment is suspended until the appeal court gives judgment.

Article 509
The case is referred to the appeal court within the limits set by the appeal application and by the appellant's capacity as stated in article 515.
The insurer's appeal produces the same effect as regards the person insured in respect of the civil action. It is notified to the person insured within three days, by a recorded delivery letter with a request for acknowledgement of service which is sent by the insurer.

BOOK II
TRIAL COURTS

TITLE II
THE TRIAL OF MISDEMEANOURS

CHAPTER II
APPEAL COURT RULINGS IN MISDEMEANOUR MATTERS

SECTION III
PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE CORRECTIONAL APPEALS DIVISION

Article 512
The rules set out for the correctional court are applicable before the appeal court subject to the following provisions.

Article 513
The appeal is tried at a hearing following an oral report made by an appeal judge. The defendant is interrogated. The witnesses summoned by the defendant are heard according to the rules provided for in articles 435 to 457. The public prosecutor may object if these witnesses have already been heard by the court. The court rules on this before any debates on the merits of the case.
After the appellant or his representative have briefly outlined the grounds of his appeal, the parties concerned speak in the order set out in article 460.
The defendant or his advocate will always have the last word.

Article 514
If the appeal court considers that the appeal is out of time or irregularly filed, it declares it inadmissible. If it considers that the appeal, although admissible, is without basis, it upholds the judgment challenged.

Article 515
The court may, upon the appeal of the public prosecutor, either uphold the judgment or reverse it in whole or in part, whether in favour of the defendant or against him.
The court may not worsen the position of the appellant on the basis of an appeal brought only by the defendant, the person liable under civil law, the civil party, or the insurer of one of these persons.
The civil party may not put forward any additional claim in the course of an appeal. However, he may apply for an increase in the award of damages in respect of any harm occurring subsequent to the first-instance decision.

Article 515-1
Where, ruling on the civil action, the correctional court has ordered an interim payment of all or part of the compensation granted, this provisional enforcement may be stopped in case of appeal by the president of the appeal court making a summary ruling, if enforcement risks causing excessive consequences. The president of the appeal court may make the suspension of the provisional enforcement conditional on the provision of security, either real or personal, sufficient to cover any damages or restitution.
Where provisional enforcement was refused by the correctional court ruling on the civil action or where provisional enforcement was not requested, or where requested the correctional court omitted to rule on this point, in the event of an appeal it may be granted by the president of the appeal court making a summary ruling.

Article 516
If the judgment is quashed because the appeal court finds there to be no felony, misdemeanour or petty offence, or that the facts are not proved or that they are not imputable to the defendant, it dismisses the prosecution.
In such a case, if the acquitted defendant applies for damages under the conditions set out in article 472, he brings his application directly before the appeal court.

Article 517
If the judgment is varied because the appeal court considers that the defendant is covered by a legal ground for exemption from penalty, the provisions of article 468 are applied.

Article 518
If the judgment is quashed because the appeal court considers that the facts constitute a petty offence only, it pronounces sentence and rules if necessary on the civil action.

Article 519
If the judgment is quashed because the appeal court considers that the facts are punishable as a felony, it declares itself incompetent. It refers the case to the public prosecutor to proceed as he sees fit.
It may issue by the same decision a committal order or an arrest warrant against the defendant, after hearing the prosecutor's submissions.

Article 520
If the judgment is quashed for breach of, or for non-corrected failure to comply with any formalities prescribed by law under penalty of nullity, the court transfers the case to itself and decides on the merits.

Article 520-1
Where an appeal is lodged against a ruling delivered in accordance with article 495-11, the court transfers the case to a higher court and rules on the merits of the case, without being able to impose a penalty more severe than that agreed by the president of the court or the judge appointed by him, unless the appeal has been lodged by the public prosecutor.

BOOK V
EXECUTION PROCEDURES

TITLE I
THE EXECUTION OF SENTENCES

CHAPTER II
PENALTY ENFORCEMENT JURISDICTIONS

SECTION III
THE PROCEDURE IN CASE OF APPEAL

Article 712-11
Decisions of the penalty enforcement judge and the penalty enforcement court may be challenged by means of an appeal by the convicted person, the district prosecutor or the prosecutor general, within:
1° twenty-four hours for the rulings mentioned in articles 712-5 and 712-8;
2° ten days in the case of the judgments mentioned in articles 712-6 and 712-7.

Article 712-12
Appeals against the orders mentioned in articles 712-5 and 712-8 are brought before the president of the penalty enforcement chamber of the appeal court, who rules by means of a reasoned decision after considering the written observations of the public prosecutor's office and of the convicted person or his advocate.

Article 712-13
Appeals against the rulings mentioned in articles 712-6 and 712-7 are brought before the penalty enforcement chamber of the appeal court, which rules by means of a reasoned decision after a hearing during which the recommendations of the public prosecutor and the observations of the convicted person's advocate are heard. The convicted person is not heard by the chamber, unless the latter decides otherwise. If it does so decide, the hearing is carried out in the presence of his advocate (or in his absence if duly notified of the hearing), either in accordance with the terms provided for by article 706-71, or by a member of the court, sitting in the penitentiary institution where the person is being detained.
To examine an appeal against the judgments mentioned in the first two paragraphs of article 712-7, the penalty enforcement chamber of the court of appeal comprises, in addition to the president and the two assistant judges, an official from an association dealing with the reintegration of prisoners and an official from a victim support agency. For the application of the provisions of the present paragraph, the jurisdiction of an appeal court may be extended into the jurisdiction of several appeal courts by a decree which determines the list and the jurisdiction of these courts.
If it upholds a ruling which has refused to grant one of the measures outlined in articles 712-6 and 712-7, the chamber may fix a time period during which any further request aimed at the granting of the same measure will be inadmissible. This period may not exceed either a third of the detention period still to be served or three years.
If he so requests, the lawyer the civil party's advocate may attend the adversarial hearing before the penalty enforcement court in order to present his observations, before the recommendations of the public prosecutor.

Article 712-14
Decisions taken by the penalty enforcement judge and the penalty enforcement court are provisionally enforceable. However, where the public prosecutor's office lodges an appeal within twenty-four hours of the notification, this suspends the implementation of the ruling until the penalty enforcement chamber of the appeal court or its president have ruled. The case must be examined at the latest within two months following the appeal of the public prosecutor's office, failing which it becomes void.

Article 712-15
The decrees and rulings mentioned in articles 712-12 and 712-13 may, within five days of their notification, form the subject of an appeal on point of law which does not suspend the operation of the decree or ruling.