BOOK I
EXERCISE OF PUBLIC PROSECUTION AND JUDICIAL INVESTIGATION

TITLE III
INVESTIGATING JURISDICTIONS

CHAPTER I
THE INVESTIGATING JUDGE: THE FIRST-TIER INVESTIGATING JURISDICTION

SECTION XII
APPEALS FILED AGAINST RULINGS BY THE INVESTIGATING JUDGE AND THE LIBERTY AND CUSTODY JUDGE

Article 185
The district prosecutor has the right to lodge an appeal before the investigating chamber against any order made by the investigating judge or the liberty and custody judge.
This appeal must be filed within five days of the notification of the decision and is made by a statement at court office at the district court.
In the event of an appeal by the person under judicial examination against being indicted, provided for in article 181, the district prosecutor has an incidental time limit of five extra days at his disposal, running from the time of the person under judicial examination's appeal.
In every case the right to appeal also belongs to the public prosecutor. He must notify the parties of his appeal within ten days of the ruling by the investigating judge or the liberty and custody judge.

Article 186
The right to appeal against the orders and decisions set out by articles 87, 137-3, 139, 140, 145-1, 145-2, 148, 179, third paragraph, and 181 is open to the person under judicial examination.
The civil party may file an appeal against orders refusing the investigation, against discharge orders and against orders affecting his civil claims. However, in no case may he appeal against an order or the provisions of an order made in respect of the detention of the person under judicial examination or in respect of judicial supervision.
The parties may also file an appeal against an order by which the judge has ruled upon his jurisdiction, either on his own motion, or upon an objection made to his jurisdiction.
The appeal filed by the parties as well as the application provided for in the fifth paragraph of article 99 must be drafted in the conditions and pursuant to the rules provided for in articles 502 and 503, within ten days of the notification or service of the decision.
The investigation case file, or its copy made in accordance with article 81, is transmitted with the reasoned opinion of the district prosecutor to the public prosecutor, who proceeds as stated under article 194 onwards.
If the president of the investigating chamber finds that an appeal is filed against an order not covered by paragraphs 1 to 3 of the present article, he makes on his own motion an order ruling the appeal inadmissible and such order is unappealable. The same applies to appeals filed against any rulings made by an investigating judge after the time limit provided for in the fourth paragraph of the present article, or where an appeal has become groundless. The president of the investigating chamber is also competent to rule on the withdrawal of an appeal made by the appellant.

Article 186-1
The parties may also lodge an appeal against the orders set out in the ninth paragraph of article 81, in articles 82-1 and 82-3, in the second paragraph of article 156 and the fourth paragraph of article 167.
In this case the investigation case file or its copy made in accordance with article 81 is sent with the reasoned opinion of the district prosecutor to the president of the investigating chamber.
Within eight days of receiving this case file, the president rules, by an order not susceptible of appeal, whether or not to refer this appeal to the investigating chamber.
If the answer is in the affirmative, he transmits the case file to the public prosecutor who proceeds as stated under article 194 onwards.
If the answer is negative, he makes a reasoned order for the return of the investigation case file to the investigating judge.

Article 186-2
In the event of an appeal against a ruling provided for in article 181, the investigating chamber rules within four months of the order, failing which the person concerned, if he is detained, is automatically released.

Article 186-3
The person under judicial examination and the civil party may lodge an appeal against the ruling provided for by the first paragraph of article 179 only if they consider that the offence sent to the correctional court constitutes a felony which should have been the subject of an indictment order sent to the assize court.

Article 187
Where an appeal is filed against an order other than a closing order, or where the investigating chamber is directly seised pursuant to articles 81, ninth paragraph, 82-1, second paragraph, 156, second paragraph, or 167, fourth paragraph, the investigating judge carries on his judicial investigation, where appropriate, as far as the closing of this investigation, except when the president of the investigating chamber decides otherwise. This decision is unappealable.
The same rules apply where the investigating chamber is seised of an annulment application pursuant to article 173.

Article 187-1
In the event of an appeal filed against an order placing in pre-trial detention, the person under judicial examination or the district prosecutor may, if the appeal is filed at the latest on the day following that of the decision order, apply to the president of the investigating chamber, or where he is unable to act, to the judge who replaces him, so as to hear his appeal immediately and without waiting for the investigating chamber's hearing. This application must be filed at the same time as the appeal brought before the investigating chamber, under penalty of inadmissibility. The person under judicial examination, his advocate or the district prosecutor may attach any written observations to support the application. If he so requests, the advocate of the person under judicial examination presents his observations verbally in the course of a hearing in chambers to the president of the investigating chamber or to the judge replacing him. The public prosecutor is notified of this hearing in order to make submissions, as appropriate. The advocate makes the final speech.
The president of the investigating chamber or the judge replacing him rules at the latest on the third working day following the application, after an examination of the material contained in the case file, by making an unappealable non-reasoned order.
The president of the investigating chamber or the judge replacing him may quash the investigating judge's order and order the release of the person if he considers that the conditions provided for in article 144 are not fulfilled. The investigating chamber is then relieved of the file.
In the opposite case, he must refer the examination of the appeal to the investigating chamber.
If he quashes the order made by the liberty and custody judge, the president of the investigating chamber or the judge who replaces him may order the person under judicial examination to be placed under judicial supervision.
If the examination of the appeal is referred to the investigating chamber, the decision is brought to the knowledge of the public prosecutor. It is notified to the person under judicial examination by the registry of the penitentiary institution, which may, as the case may be, record the waiver of the appeal made by this person.
The filing of an appeal and the application set out under the first paragraph of the present article may be recorded by the investigating judge at the close of the adversarial hearing provided for by the fourth paragraph of article 145. For the purposes of the second paragraph of the present article, transmission of the case file to the president of the investigating chamber may be made by fax.

Article 187-2
A person who formulates the appeal provided for in article 187-1 may request that it be directly examined by the investigating chamber. In such a case it is decided, after consideration of the facts in the case file, within no more than five working days of the application being made.


Article 187-3
In cases provided for by the second paragraph of article 148-1-1, the public prosecutor who lodges an appeal against an order granting the release of a prisoner contrary to his submissions must, under penalty of inadmissibility, also submit within four hours from the time of his notification a request to review detention to the president of the court of appeal (or where he is unable to act, the person replacing him), in order to declare this appeal suspensive. The district prosecutor attaches to his application written submissions in favour of keeping the person under examination in custody. The person under examination and his advocate may also submit such written observations as they wish.
The president of the court of appeal or the judge replacing him must decide within two working days of the application. During this time, the effects of the release order are suspended and the person remains in detention. If the president of the appeal court (or judge replacing him) fails to rule within this time limit, the detainee is released, unless he has been detained for another reason.
The first president of the court of appeal (or judge replacing him) gives a reasoned decision on the basis of the file, and this decision is not open to appeal. At his request, the advocate of the person under examination may present oral submissions before this judge at a hearing in chambers, of which the public prosecutor is informed so as to enable him to make representations as appropriate.
If the first president of the court of appeal or the judge replacing him concludes that by at least two of the criteria contained in article 144 it is manifestly necessary to keep the person under examination in custody until the investigating chamber has ruled on the public prosecutor's appeal, he orders the suspension of the order for release until this date. The person under examination may then not be freed until the hearing by the investigating chamber, before which he has a right to appear in person. The investigating chamber must rule as quickly as possible and no later than ten days after the appeal was entered, failing which the person is automatically freed, unless he has been detained for another reason.
Otherwise, the president of the appeal court (or judge replacing him) orders the person's release, unless he is detained for another reason.
Under penalty of nullity, the judge who has ruled on the request to review detention may not be part of the investigating chamber which rules on the public prosecutor's appeal.
The case file may be sent to the president of the appeal court (or judge replacing him) by fax.