Request for investigative measures

The petition must describe the requested measure precisely, or it is inadmissible. The investigating judge decides, on pain of nullity of his order, within one month of the petition being entered in the register. If the person charged is held in pre-trial detention, that period drops to eight days.

He can reject the request if he does not consider the measure necessary to establish the truth. He can also reject it if he considers it, at that point, harmful to the investigation. A request filed within the period for the review of the procedure suspends that review. A timely request stops evidence from disappearing before the investigation can rule on it.

An investigative measure can, for example, concern a bank inquiry. Where there are serious indications of a serious offence, the public prosecutor can then request financial information from the institutions concerned, under article 46quater of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

A refusal can be appealed before the indictments chamber, within fifteen days. Our assistance for people suspected of fraud describes the whole criminal investigation. If you already had access to the criminal file, this request builds on what that access revealed.

During a preliminary investigation, the right to request an additional measure belongs to the suspect and to the injured party who made a statement. They ask the public prosecutor for an additional investigative act. The prosecutor decides within four months, or within one month of the investigating judge’s first authorisation during a mini-instruction.

If the prosecutor rejects the request, the appeal is made by a declaration at the registry of the court of first instance. That declaration must be made within eight days of the refusal being notified. The indictments chamber then decides within fifteen days, after hearing the advocate general, the applicant and his lawyer.

We draft the petition and describe the requested measure with enough precision to avoid any admissibility problem. If a seizure also appears in your file, we then look at the lifting of that seizure. If you are later summoned, our assistance before the criminal court carries the file forward. Our police interview assistance often connects here too, when a further interview follows from the investigation.

During a judicial investigation, the person charged and the civil party can ask the investigating judge for an additional investigative measure. During a preliminary investigation, that right belongs to the suspect and to the injured party who made a statement, and their request goes to the public prosecutor. Which route applies depends on the stage your file has reached. We determine in advance which route applies to your file, so that the petition is addressed to the right authority immediately.

The investigating judge decides within one month of your petition being entered in the register, on pain of nullity of his order. If you are held in pre-trial detention, that period drops to eight days. If your petition does not describe the requested measure precisely enough, it is inadmissible. File your petition, therefore, as soon as you have enough information to describe the requested measure precisely.

If the public prosecutor refuses your request, you appeal within eight days of the notice by a declaration at the registry of the court of first instance. The indictments chamber then decides within fifteen days. It hears the advocate general, you as the applicant, and your lawyer. Here too, we check in advance whether your file is at the stage of a preliminary or a judicial investigation.

A request filed within the period for the review of the procedure suspends that review. The investigating judge decides, on pain of nullity of his order, within one month of the petition being entered in the register. A timely request stops evidence from disappearing before the investigation can rule on it.