French justice a labyrinth quite different from British system

The French way of justice is as bewildering as the British system - but bewildering in different ways.

The seven photographers "charged" with manslaughter following the death of Princess Diana were technically not charged at all: they were mis en examen or "placed under formal examination". This is, in theory, a preliminary stage to being actually charged with an offence.

The main point of difference with the British pattern of justice is the role of the juge d'instruction or examining magistrate. Unless there is a clear and unarguable case to answer, the public prosecutor's office (the parquet) appoints an examining magistrate to decide whether a case should be pursued or not. From that point, the magistrate, not the police, leads the investigation. He assembles evidence, interviews witnesses and reconstructs the scene of the alleged crime. Depending on the seriousness of the case, he can keep a suspect in custody for up to six months.

If he decides that there is possible case to answer, he places the accused under examination. If he concludes, after completing his inquiries, that there is no basis for a charge, he declares a non-lieu - he drops the case. If he believes the accused should be he tried, he formally sends the case on to the courts. Under the French system, this is, properly speaking, the stage when someone is legally charged.