In Flagrante Delicto and Preliminary Inquiries
Explanation
This explanation clarifies the procedural rules regarding cases of flagrant crime (le crime flagrant) in the Lebanese Code of Criminal Procedure, and it is not the text of the law itself but a statement of its provisions. The law has limited the cases of a flagrant crime to witnessing it when it occurs, arresting its perpetrator during or immediately after the act, pursuing them with the shouting of the public, discovering it immediately after its commission with clear traces, or apprehending the suspect in possession of weapons, papers, or objects indicating their crime within 24 hours of its occurrence. The legislator also included the crime committed inside a dwelling if its occupant requests an investigation into it within 24 hours of its discovery.
The law grants the public prosecutor (le procureur général) or the advocate general the authority to prevent those present at the felony scene from leaving under penalty of a fine and prosecution, as well as the power to arrest anyone surrounded by strong suspicions, interrogate them, and hold them in police custody (la garde à vue) for a maximum period of forty-eight hours, with the possibility of extension for a similar period if the investigation so requires, or to issue a subpoena (le mandat d'amener) against a fugitive, with the exception of a person of known standing from being prosecuted merely based on a report.
The legislator surrounded the interrogation of the detainee with fundamental guarantees for the rights of defense, mandating informing them of the fundamental rights of defense (Article 47), recording their stance on them, and obtaining their signature, and made the neglect of this result in an absolute nullity affecting the interrogation and all subsequent procedures (la nullité des actes). It also obligated the public prosecution to ensure that all its procedures are lawful and free from physical or moral coercion (la contrainte physique ou morale) and documented in reports dated with the start and end times and signed with the clerk.
To ensure the speed of the investigation in the absence of the public prosecution and the investigating judge, the law imposed on the single judge (le juge unique) to move to initiate the investigation into the flagrant crime within their district, following the procedures of the public prosecutor, provided that they stop immediately upon the arrival of the original authorities, while the law set a comprehensive time limit for the procedures of a flagrant felony determined by the expiration of eight days from their commencement.
Official legal articles
amend · 1993-05-27: Open the official text
amend · 2001-08-18: Open the official text
replace · 2020-10-22: Open the official text
Think deeper
How does the explicit penalty of nullifying the interrogation, upon neglecting to record the interrogated person's stance on their legal rights such as the right to a lawyer and signing it, connect to the general principle which requires investigation procedures to be free from moral and physical coercion?
Flashcards
What is the time limit specified by law for seizing objects or weapons with a person to consider the crime flagrant?
Within twenty-four hours of the occurrence of the crime (Article 29).
What are the conditions for treating a crime committed inside a house as a flagrant crime?
That it occurs inside a house, and that its owner or one of its occupants requests an investigation into it from the public prosecution within a period of twenty-four hours from the date of its discovery (Article 30).
What is the legal duration for holding a suspect in custody by the public prosecution and what is the limit for its extension?
A period not exceeding forty-eight hours, extendable for a similar period if the investigation dictates it (Article 32).
What is the legal consequence of failing to inform the suspect of their fundamental rights of defense or failing to record their stance and signature on the report?
Nullity of the interrogation and the procedures subsequent to it (Article 32).
Is it permissible to issue a subpoena based solely on a report against a person of known standing?
No, a report is not considered a sufficient reason to issue a subpoena against a person of known standing (Article 32).
When do the procedures specific to a flagrant felony legally stop?
They stop after the expiration of a period of eight days from their commencement (Article 32).
What is required of the single judge upon the arrival of the public prosecutor or the investigating judge at the scene of the flagrant crime?
The single judge stops pursuing their investigations immediately upon the arrival of either of them (Article 37).
Practice questions
Which of the following cases is explicitly considered a flagrant crime under the Code of Criminal Procedure?
A crime in which the suspect is pursued based on the shouting of the public is considered a flagrant crime, whereas it is stipulated for the seizure of weapons that it must be within 24 hours of its occurrence (Article 29).
What is the time constraint for the homeowner to request an investigation into a crime committed inside their home for it to be treated as flagrant?
The request must be submitted within a period of twenty-four hours from the date of discovering the crime committed inside the house for it to be treated as flagrant (Article 30).
What is the penalty for someone who violates the public prosecutor's decision prohibiting leaving the scene of the felony?
The violator of the prohibition decision is prosecuted before the single judge to whom the location of the crime belongs and is punished with a fine ranging between two hundred thousand and two million liras (Article 32).
What is the penalty prescribed by law if the public prosecutor interrogates a suspect without recording their stance on their fundamental rights of defense and obtaining their signature?
Informing the suspect of their rights, recording their stance, and obtaining their signature shall be under penalty of nullity of the interrogation and the procedures subsequent to it (Article 32).
What are the mandatory details that the law requires the public prosecutor to document in the reports when carrying out investigation procedures?
The public prosecutor must document in the reports the start time of the procedure, its end time, and every means used in its execution, and then sign every report with the clerk (Article 35).
If the single judge initiates the investigation into a flagrant crime, when must they legally stop pursuing it?
The single judge stops pursuing their investigations upon the arrival of either the public prosecutor or the investigating judge (Article 37).
Case problems
An aggravated theft felony occurred in a commercial store. Three hours after the incident, a security patrol suspected a person carrying a bag. They seized weapons and stolen tools with him that clearly indicate he is the perpetrator. The suspect was taken to the advocate general who initiated his interrogation immediately. However, the advocate general did not inform him of the rights granted by law to detainees. He did not record on the report his stance on exercising these rights. The suspect did not sign any statement in this regard. After that, the advocate general ordered him to be kept in custody. His custody continued for 65 continuous hours without deciding to extend his custody. The suspect's counsel pleaded the nullity of the interrogation and custody procedures. Evaluate this plea based on the given legal texts.
Model answer
The incident is legally considered a flagrant crime due to the seizure of weapons and objects with the suspect. These objects indicate his commission of the crime within twenty-four hours of its occurrence (Article 29).
The law mandated the advocate general to inform the interrogated person of all his basic rights. His stance must be recorded on the report regarding benefiting from them and obtaining his signature (Article 32). Since the advocate general completely neglected these obligations, the interrogation of the suspect and the subsequent procedures are considered explicitly null.
The law limited the custody period of the suspect to a maximum of forty-eight hours. It may not be extended for a similar period unless the judge decides that the investigation dictates an additional period (Article 32). Accordingly, keeping the person in custody for 65 hours without deciding to extend his custody constitutes an explicit violation of the maximum limit.
Conclusion: The plea of the suspect's counsel for the nullity of the interrogation and the subsequent procedures is legally sound.
Self-grading rubric
A family returned to their home after an absence and discovered vandalism and theft of the house furniture. After 16 hours had passed from the date of this discovery, the homeowner went to the public prosecution and requested an investigation into the crime as a felony. While the file was with the advocate general, he received a phone report against a resident of the building who is a person of known standing, so the advocate general immediately issued a subpoena against him. On the other hand, due to the delayed arrival of the public prosecution staff to the house location, the penal single judge to whom the location of the crime belongs moved and initiated the inspection and investigation procedures themselves, and during their interrogation of the witnesses, the public prosecutor arrived at the scene, but the single judge insisted on completing all procedures and refused to stop until drafting their final report two days later. Clarify the extent of compliance of the three procedures with the provisions of the law.
Model answer
First, characterizing the crime, this act is treated as a flagrant crime because the crime occurred inside a house and its owner requested the public prosecution to investigate it within a period of twenty-four hours from the date of its discovery (Article 30).
Second, the subpoena, issuing the subpoena against the person of known standing based solely on the report is considered a null procedure, as a report is not considered a sufficient reason to issue a subpoena against a person of known standing (Article 32).
Third, the procedures of the single judge, the movement of the single judge and their initiation of the investigation was originally a valid act due to the non-attendance of the public prosecutor or the investigating judge. However, their insistence on pursuing the investigation and refusal to stop upon the arrival of the public prosecutor violates the law, as they must stop pursuing their investigations immediately upon the arrival of either of them and refer what they have conducted to the public prosecutor (Article 37).