CEDH · CASELAW;CLIN;ENG — 14 juin 2005

.s3ABFC313 { font-size:10pt } .sEB86A30B { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:14pt; page-break-after:avoid } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sA241FE93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:18pt; text-align:justify; page-break-after:avoid; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .s2EF62ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:12pt } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s8F2B0B1B { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12pt } .s9FF10068 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s5F48796F { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s5CB9E8AB { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; border-bottom:1pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .sDF790F1E { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s3DC36BA9 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline; color:#0069d6 } Information Note on the Court’s case-law No. 76 June 2005 Menet v. France - 39553/02 Judgment 14.6.2005 [Section II] Article 6 Civil proceedings Article 6-1 Fair hearing Impossibility for a civil party to have access to the criminal file without the assistance of a lawyer: no violation   Facts : The applicant lodged a criminal complaint, with an application to join the proceedings as a civil party. A criminal investigation was opened and included the hearing of evidence by the investigating judge, who discontinued the proceedings. The applicant lodged an appeal. He chose not to be represented by a lawyer, and personally visited the Appeal Court registry in order to consult the investigation file. He was refused access to the file because he was not a lawyer. Under domestic law only lawyers representing parties are allowed to consult the investigation file, not the parties themselves. The Investigation Division upheld the discontinuation order. The applicant appealed unsuccessfully to the Court of Cassation. Law : Article 6 § 1 – This case concerned a civil party not represented by a lawyer who was refused access to the investigation file on that basis. Article 6 did not prohibit the reservation of access to the investigation file to lawyers. In the instant case, French law provided that access to the investigation file was reserved either for lawyers directly, or through lawyers, in order to preserve the secrecy of the investigation, as civil parties, unlike lawyers, were not subject to professional confidentiality rules. The secrecy of the investigation could be justified by reasons relating to the protection of the privacy of the parties to the proceedings and to the interests of justice, within the meaning of the second sentence of Article 6 § 1. In view of the interests at stake, the restriction on the applicant’s rights had not excessively impaired his right to a fair trial. Conclusion : no violation (six votes to one). N.B. for the case of a civil party represented by a lawyer during part of the proceedings, see Frangy v. France , no. 42270/98, judgment of 1.2.2005.   © Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court. Click here for the Case-Law Information Notes