By Tony Todd
France 24
FRANCE — France’s Socialist government was facing a huge judicial headache after a report revealed Wednesday that hundreds of prisoners in French jails may have to be released on a technicality.
According to satirical and investigative weekly the Canard Enchainé, the Court of Cassation – France’s last court of appeal in civil and criminal matters – in June 2013 ruled a 2004 government decree on the statute of limitations null and void.
The statute of limitations, called “prescription” in France, sets out the time limit after a crime has been committed during which an offender can still be punished.
In 2004, France’s justice ministry decreed that the ministry, as well as sentencing judges, could decide whether a suspected criminal could still be imprisoned – even if the normal time limit had expired.
The decree also outlined conditions, such as sending out European arrest warrants, which could change or interrupt that period.
Full story: Judicial error could release hundreds from French prisons