What is Filing a Complaint?

Filing a complaint allows a victim to inform the justice system that an offense has been committed. The facts in question must be criminalized by a text that provides for a criminal penalty. Filing a complaint is therefore unnecessary when disputes are purely civil or administrative.

If the victim does not know the perpetrator or is not sure of their identity, they must file a complaint against an unknown person.

It is important to distinguish between a complaint and a police report (judicial information report) which mainly serves to officially date certain facts that may constitute evidence in a subsequent judicial procedure.

Who Can File a Complaint?

Any person who is a victim of an offense can file a complaint.

While a minor can report any offense of which they are a victim to the justice system, they do not have legal capacity and cannot sign their complaint. Therefore, they must be represented by a parent, a rights holder, or an ad hoc administrator.

When to File a Complaint?

To file a complaint, you must respect the statute of limitations, which varies according to the nature of the offense and generally starts to run from the day the offense is committed.

It’s important to know that filing a complaint does not interrupt the statute of limitations (Cass. Crim., July 11, 2012, 11-87.583). Only the Public Prosecutor’s investigation into the facts reported by the victim or a complaint with civil party constitution interrupts the statute of limitations.

The Various Forms of Complaint

There are different ways to file a complaint:

In-Person Complaint

You can go to the police station or gendarmerie of your choice. Police or gendarmerie officers are obligated to receive the complaint (Article 15-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure) regardless of where the offense was committed, where the victim resides, and even if there is no evidence at the time of filing the complaint.

The victim must be heard and their complaint must be recorded in an official report of which they receive a receipt.

Electronic Pre-Complaint

It is possible to fill out a pre-complaint online (Art. 15-3-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure), which must then be signed at the police station or gendarmerie. This process is only valid for complaints against unknown persons, for property damage or discriminatory acts.

Furthermore, since March 15, 2022, if you are a victim or witness of online scams, the Harmonized Processing of Investigations and Reports for E-scams (THESEE) system allows you to file a complaint or report the offense online.

By mail

You can file a complaint with the Public Prosecutor by sending a letter to the judicial court of the place of the offense or the residence of the offender. The letter must include certain mandatory information:

• Your civil status and complete contact information;
• A detailed account of the facts with the date and place of the offense;
• The name of the offender if you know it;
• Names and addresses of any witnesses;
• A description and provisional or final estimate of the damage suffered;
• Evidence documents (medical certificates, work stoppages, reports for example);
• The intention to file as a civil party.

It is recommended to send your complaint by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt and to keep all proof of sending and receiving

The Right to Information

Regardless of the method used to file a complaint, a receipt is given to the complainant as soon as the complaint is registered. Furthermore, don’t hesitate to request a copy of the official report which is issued upon request (Art. 15-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).

At the complaint filing stage, victims must be informed of their rights (Art. 10-2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure), including: to file as a civil party; to refer, as appropriate, to the commission for compensation of victims of crime; to be informed about protective measures they may benefit from, or to be able to benefit from an interpreter and a translation of information essential to the exercise of their rights.

During the preliminary investigation, since LAW No. 2021-1729 of December 22, 2021, a copy of all or part of the case file may be made available to the complainant and/or their lawyer (Article 77-2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).

Initiation of an Investigation

Filing a complaint triggers a criminal investigation, entrusted to the police or gendarmerie, which must verify the existence of the offense and identify the perpetrator. At the end of the investigation, the Public Prosecutor is solely responsible for deciding whether or not to pursue prosecution.

Withdrawal of Complaint

You can always withdraw your complaint by going to the police station, the gendarmerie, or by writing to the Public Prosecutor. In cases of insult, defamation, or certain privacy violations, withdrawal will result in the cessation of prosecution. However, for other offenses, this does not automatically stop the investigation or prosecution of the perpetrator.

What to Do if They Refuse to Record Your Complaint?

If they refuse to take your complaint, several courses of action are available to you:

• Tell the police or gendarmerie officer that you know your rights and that they must be able to take your complaint, reminding them of the provisions of Article 15-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
• If the refusal to take the complaint persists, you can change police station or gendarmerie while simultaneously filing a complaint with the IGPN and the Defender of Rights. Indeed, the Defender of Rights has already had the opportunity to rule on this matter, recalling that “a police officer or gendarmerie member cannot refuse to record a complaint except in cases where the absence of an offense is indisputable, without the need for further verification” (Decision MDS-2013-41 of March 26, 2013).
• You can directly send a complaint to the Public Prosecutor in writing and by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt
• You can get help from an association in the France Victimes network or another association.
• You can call on Equitas who can assist you in your proceedings.

APPLICABLE REFERENCES

Articles 1 to 10, 12 to 15-4 and 39 to 44-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure; Law No. 2019-222 of March 23, 2019 on programming 2018-2022 and justice reform; Decree No. 2018-388 of May 24, 2018 relating to the automated processing of personal data called “online pre-complaint”; Order of June 26, 2020 on the creation of harmonized processing of investigations and reports for e-scams (THESEE); Decree No. 2022-546 of April 13, 2022 implementing various provisions of criminal procedure from Law No. 2021-1729 of December 22, 2021 for confidence in the judicial institution.

Defender of Rights, decision MDS-2013-41 of March 26, 2013; Cass. Crim., July 11, 2012, No. 11-87.583