Questionnaire France

I.22 Are the decisions referred to in question 16, taken by the public prosecutor himself?

Yes, they are taken by the public prosecutor himself. See sects. 41-1 and 41-2 CCP: the district prosecutor alone has the power to institute or initiate such measures and procedures through authorised persons prior to any public prosecution being instituted (for example, through a judicial police officer or a mediator of the district prosecutor). The new sect. 495-7 CCP, introducing a French version of plea bargaining, also complies with this principle derived from the expediency principle.