Cassation and Petitions for Retrial
Explanation
Disclaimer: These paragraphs are provided for academic and educational explanation purposes and are not the legal text itself presented independently and abstractly. The Code of Criminal Procedure regulates two methods for appealing judgments: cassation or appeal (la cassation) and retrial (la révision). The law allows the cassation of judgments issued by criminal courts based on specific exclusive grounds. These grounds include the issuance of the judgment by an illegally constituted panel, or violation of the law and its interpretation and application. They also include violation of jurisdiction, omission of procedures required under penalty of nullity, and breach of fundamental rules. They further include the issuance of a death penalty (la peine de mort), distortion of facts and documents, or lack of legal basis.
Both the public prosecution (le ministère public) and the convicted person have the right to request the cassation of the judgment for the established legal grounds. The cassation of the judgment based on the request of either of them results in devolving the public action before the Court of Cassation. The court decides on it according to the procedures of the criminal court. In contrast, the effect of the cassation appeal submitted by the personal claimant (la partie civile) is limited to the civil part only. They may also appeal if the judgment awards personal compensation less than what they had requested.
The law regulates the status of the accused in terms of detention during the cassation trial depending on the operative part of the appealed judgment. If the judgment decrees acquittal, nullification of pursuits, or non-responsibility, the accused shall not be tried in detention. An exception is if the Court of Cassation decides to detain them by a reasoned decision, observing the maximum preventive detention limits (Article 108). However, if the judgment decrees their incrimination and the public prosecution requests its cassation, they shall be tried in detention, observing the maximum preventive detention limits (Article 108). The law determines the path for submitting the cassation request directly through the registry of the Court of Cassation or the registry of the issuing court. The issuing court is bound by a five-day time limit to refer it.
The Court of Cassation has jurisdiction over the request for retrial (la révision) in felony and misdemeanor cases, regardless of the court or the decreed penalty. Retrial is based on exclusively specified newly emerged factual situations. These cases include the appearance of sufficient evidence that the alleged murdered person is still alive. They include the issuance of two contradictory judgments against two persons for the same offense proving the innocence of one of them. They also include the proof of perjury by a final judgment, or the appearance of new facts and documents that exonerate the convicted person. The lapse of the penalty by prescription does not prevent the hearing of this request.
The retrial request is submitted through the Cassation Public Prosecutor within one year from the date of knowledge of the cause requiring the retrial. Failure to do so leads to rejecting the request. The convicted person, their legal representative, their heirs, or legatees have the right to submit it. The law requires attaching mandatory documents including a certified copy exempt from fees of the judgment and the evidence. The documents include a copy of the lawyer's power of attorney and a financial deposit receipt of two hundred thousand liras. The Cassation Public Prosecutor refers the request with their pleading to the competent authority within one week.
Official legal articles
replace · 2005-12-15: Open the official text
replace · 2005-12-15: Open the official text
Think deeper
Why did the law limit the effect of the cassation request submitted by the personal claimant to the civil part only, and how does this restriction integrate with their right to appeal compensations that are less than what they requested?
Flashcards
What is the legal effect of the cassation request submitted by the personal claimant (la partie civile)?
The effect of their request is limited to the civil part only of the appealed judgment or decision.
How is the accused tried before the Court of Cassation if the appealed judgment decrees their acquittal?
They are not tried in detention before the Court of Cassation unless it decides to detain them by a reasoned decision. The provisions regarding the maximum limits of preventive detention must be observed (Article 108).
What is the binding legal time limit for the registry of the court that issued the judgment to refer the cassation request and the case file?
Within a maximum of five days from the date of its submission to the public prosecution there, so that the Cassation Public Prosecution deposits it immediately.
Does the lapse of the decreed penalty by prescription affect the hearing of the retrial request (la révision)?
The law confirms that the lapse of the decreed penalty by prescription does not prevent the hearing of the retrial request (Article 328).
What is the specified time limit for submitting a retrial request and what is the penalty for exceeding it?
It is submitted within one year starting from the day they learned of the cause requiring the retrial, under penalty of rejecting the request.
What is the amount of the financial deposit for which a payment receipt must be attached to the retrial petition?
A financial receipt for the payment of a deposit of two hundred thousand Lebanese liras.
Practice questions
When is the accused mandatorily tried while in detention before the Court of Cassation when examining a cassation request?
If the appealed judgment decrees the incrimination or conviction of the accused and the public prosecution requests its cassation, the accused is tried in detention (Article 298). The maximum limits for detention periods must be observed (Article 108).
Which of the following cases is considered an explicit ground for the admissibility of a retrial request in criminal and misdemeanor cases?
The proof of a witness's perjury by a final judgment is one of the exclusive cases for requesting a retrial (Article 328). The other options are grounds for the cassation of criminal court judgments (Article 296).
What is the specified time limit for the Cassation Public Prosecutor to refer the retrial request with their pleading to the competent authority?
The Cassation Public Prosecutor is obliged to refer the request to the competent criminal chamber or the Judicial Council, accompanied by their pleading, within a period of one week (Article 329).
The personal claimant has the right to appeal by cassation against judgments issued by criminal courts in a specific case, which is:
The personal claimant has the right to appeal by cassation the personal compensations decreed by the judgment that are less than what they requested (Article 301).
In the event of the death of the convicted person, who is legally authorized to submit a retrial request?
Upon the death of the convicted person, the right to submit a retrial request transfers to one of their heirs or one of the legatees (Article 329).
What is the procedure followed by the Court of Cassation if the cassation request is submitted directly to it?
If the cassation request is submitted directly to the Court of Cassation, the court requests the deposit of the file through the Cassation Public Prosecution (Article 317).
Case problems
The criminal court decreed the incrimination of an accused for a felony of theft and punished them with hard labor, along with obliging them to pay the amount of twenty million liras as personal compensation to the personal claimant, while the latter was demanding fifty million liras in their memoranda. The public prosecution did not appeal the judgment. The convicted person submitted a cassation petition based on the distortion of facts and documents and the court's omission to decide on an explicit legal defense they had submitted. At the same time, the personal claimant submitted a cassation petition requesting an increase in the financial compensation, in addition to requesting the cancellation of the mitigating circumstances granted to the convicted person and the aggravation of the prison sentence.
Model answer
First, regarding the convicted person's cassation request. The convicted person may request the cassation of the judgment (Article 298). The grounds they relied on are considered explicit legal grounds that permit cassation. These grounds are the distortion of facts or the clear content of documents and the failure to decide on a defense submitted by one of the parties (Article 296).
The cassation of the judgment based on the convicted person's request results in devolving the public action before the Court of Cassation. This court follows the procedures of the criminal court and decides on the case (Article 298).
Second, regarding the personal claimant's cassation request. The personal claimant has the right to appeal by cassation regarding the personal compensations. This is permissible if the judgment decreed compensations less than what they requested (Article 301). The claimant demanded fifty million and the judgment decreed twenty million.
The effect of this request is legally limited to the civil part only of the appealed judgment (Article 298). Their request related to the aggravation of the penal sentence and the cancellation of the mitigating causes does not produce any legal effect. It also does not devolve the action in the penal part.
Self-grading rubric
A criminal court convicted a person of a murder crime, and the penalty was executed, and the remainder of it lapsed by prescription after their release. After the expiration of the prescription period, the person alleged to have been murdered appeared alive, and their identity was established by sufficient and conclusive evidence. The previously convicted person learned of this fact on January 10. On November 15 of the same year, the convicted person went directly to the registry of the Court of Cassation and submitted a petition requesting their retrial and the declaration of their innocence, without attaching a financial deposit receipt or a lawyer's power of attorney, considering that the lapse of the penalty and the appearance of the murdered person alive mandate the dropping of all financial and procedural formalities.
Model answer
First, in terms of principle and the objective cause. The appearance of sufficient evidence that the alleged murdered person is alive is considered an explicit ground for requesting a retrial. This includes felony and misdemeanor cases (Article 328).
Second, in terms of the effect of prescription. The lapse of the penalty by prescription does not prevent the hearing of the retrial request (Article 328). Therefore, the expiration of the penalty does not prevent the acceptance of the request.
Third, in terms of the deadline. The request was submitted on November 15. This was done before the expiration of one year from the date of their knowledge that occurred on January 10. Thus, it is submitted within the legally specified annual time limit (Article 329).
Fourth, in terms of formal procedures and attachments. The petitioner violated the legal procedures in two paths (Article 329). The first is that they submitted the request directly to the registry of the Court of Cassation. The law requires submitting it through the Cassation Public Prosecutor to refer it with their pleading within one week. The second is that they omitted attaching the mandatory documents required under penalty of rejection. These documents include a certified true copy of the judgment and the evidence. They also include a copy of the lawyer's power of attorney and a financial receipt for the payment of a deposit of two hundred thousand liras.
Self-grading rubric
The criminal court issued a judgment decreeing the acquittal of an accused from a felony of forgery and the nullification of pursuits against them due to insufficient evidence, and they were released. The public prosecution submitted a request for the cassation of the judgment based on the omission of fundamental trial rules, and registered its request with the registry of the criminal court that issued the judgment, and explicitly requested in its petition the detention of the acquitted person immediately upon submitting the request. The court registry kept the petition and the case file with it for a period of twelve days before handing it over to the public prosecution.
Model answer
First, the ground for appeal and the appealing party. The public prosecution has the right to request the cassation of the judgment (Article 298). The omission of procedures required under penalty of nullity or the breach of fundamental rules in the trial is considered a valid legal ground for cassation (Article 296).
Second, the status of the accused in terms of detention. The appealed judgment decreed the acquittal of the accused and the nullification of pursuits against them. The law mandates that they shall not be tried in detention before the Court of Cassation unless it decides to detain them by a reasoned decision (Article 298). The provisions of preventive detention are taken into account in this regard (Article 108). Accordingly, the accused is not detained immediately upon the public prosecution's submission of the cassation request.
Third, the procedures for submitting the request and the time limit for referral. The cassation request may be submitted to the registry of the court that issued the appealed judgment (Article 317). The court registry's retention of the file for twelve days violates legal procedures. The law obliges referring the request and the case file to the public prosecution there within a maximum of five days from the date of its submission. The Cassation Public Prosecution deposits it immediately to refer it to the Court of Cassation (Article 317).