Sarkozy to change French legal system

Azerbaijan News.Net
Wednesday 7th January, 2009

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said there will soon be changes to the French judiciary, to take it away from the magisterial system.

Unlike the English system where investigations are conducted by prosecutors and police, in France investigating magistrates act as independent judges.

At present the investigating magistrate oversees investigations by police and prosecutors, examines the evidence and decides if a case should go to trial.

State prosecutors, who answer to the justice minister, are now expected to take over criminal cases.

Such a change would be in line with recommendations made after a high-profile pedophilia case eight years ago, in which more than a dozen people were wrongfully jailed following a flawed investigation by a young magistrate.

The case became known as the Outreau scandal.

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