The Objects of Criminal Procedure as they Appear to a French Prosecuting Officer

Abstract

An imperial decree, passed in France in 1810 and still in force, provides that, after the long summer vacation, all the Courts of Appeal shall be formally opened in the presence of the various chambers, and an address pronounced by the attorney general (procureur général) of the department or an advocate deputed by him for the purpose, after which the chief justice (premier president) shall renew his oath of office, and all the advocates present shall renew theirs. It is an imposing ceremonial. The Judges appear in red gowns; the lawyers in black. The civil, military, and religious authorities of the place are introduced in their appropriate costumes, filing into the court room in al order of procedure established by rule. The main subject of the address is selected by the orator of the occasion, but he is bound in the course of it to remind the advocates and attorneys of their professional duties, and to commemorate the attainments. and the services of distinguished members of the bar who may have died during the preceding year.