Their platform: “On September 23, 2021, the testimony of a young woman alerted to the shortcomings observed in the handling of complaints for sexual violence. Since that day, the hashtag Double Peine has flooded social networks, inciting thousands of victims to express their views on the way they were received in the police stations. In the exercise of our profession, we are daily witnesses to shortcomings at the investigation stage, which in fine will harm the smooth running of the criminal trial. In many police stations, staff are trained in sexual violence and carry out their duties with competence, patience and empathy, but there are still cases where the care of victims is inadequate and encourages them to abandon the legal fight.
These revelations oblige us, lawyers, to recall certain principles enshrined in the Code of Criminal Procedure and above all to call for a change in the law for greater clarity, in order to improve the conditions of care for victims.
The Code of Criminal Procedure provides that the police are required to receive complaints lodged by victims of offences. However, many are those whose complaint is not received. And when it is, it is sometimes with a long wait, awkward remarks or the impossibility of being immediately examined by the medico-judicial units.
However, for victims of sexual violence, the hours following the attack are crucial. No one can deny that the time elapsed between the commission of the facts and the presentation before the police has consequences for the withering away of evidence, starting with the gynecological examination of the victim, which will be of no value. if it is not done in time.
The speed with which a complaint is received clearly constitutes, through the evidence it allows to gather, the guarantee of a fair trial, both for the civil parties and for the defence.
The Code of Criminal Procedure does not expressly establish the right to be assisted by a lawyer when filing a complaint. It only refers to the possibility for the victim to be accompanied by his legal representative or the adult of his choice.
The Ministry of Justice, in 2019, itself came out in favor of the presence of the lawyer. However, it is common that, when he comes to the police station to accompany his client, he is prevented from attending the hearing.
The vagueness of the texts leads to a form of arbitrariness with regard to the assistance of the lawyer, whereas this is essential for the legal support and the psychological support that he provides to the victim.
The first virtues expected of a law are that it be clear and precise. Thus, the ambiguity presented by these texts must be put to an end, by formally enshrining the right of victims to be assisted by a lawyer, as soon as a complaint is filed.
The sum of the testimonies that have appeared in recent weeks should give rise to immediate national awareness. We expect the public authorities to clarify the texts and implement them in such a way as to guarantee the effective care of the victims.”
The petitioners :
Karen Noblinski, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Rachel-Flore Pardo, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Marie-Aimée Peyron, Lawyer at the Paris Bar, Former President of the Paris Bar
Dominique Attias, Lawyer at the Paris Bar, Former Vice-President of the Bar Association
Sélim Brihi, Lawyer at the Paris Bar, President of the Criminal Justice Observatory
Laurence Krief, Lawyer at the Paris Bar, Member of the Council of the Order of the Paris Bar
Eric Morain, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Roman Leibovici, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Elena Sos, Lawyer at the Hauts-de-Seine Bar
Clotilde Lepetit, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Laure Heinich, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Thomas Ricard, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Karine Bourdié, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Patrick Klugman, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Nicolas Castel, Lawyer at the Bar of Versailles
Salomé Cohen, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Anne-Sophie Laguens, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Charline Coffignal, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Marie Alexandrine Bardinet, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Dorothée Bisaccia-Bernstein, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Zoé Royaux, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Matthieu N’kaoua, Lawyer at the Nantes Bar
Sophie de Penfentenyo, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Mélodie Drissi, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Floriane Obadia, Lawyer at the Essonne Bar
William Word Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Martin Pradel, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Stéphanie Cohen, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Josselin Guillon, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Laure Fitoussi, Lawyer at the Strasbourg Bar
Juliette Michel d’Annoville, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Elsa Chetrit, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Julia Nioré, Lawyer at the Paris Bar.
Muriel Ouaknine Melki, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Séphora Perez, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Simon Martin-Gousset, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Raphaël Baudat, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Chloé Romagné, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Rebecca Lahoud-Heilbronner, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Baptiste de Fresse de Monval, Lawyer at the Paris Bar.
Catalina Ramirez Palau, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Laurence Dauxin-Nedelec, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Antoine Cadeo de Iturbide, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Nathalie Makowski, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Camille Chaker, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Pauline Rongier, lawyer at the Paris Bar
Constance Dewavrin, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Clarissa Teixeira, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Caroline Yadan Pesah, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Benjamin Mathieu, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Clara Steg, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Coralie Ouazana, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Isabelle Thomas Werner, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Elodie Jean, lawyer at the Paris Bar
Bachir Belkaid, lawyer at the Montpellier Bar
Maeva Zwirn, lawyer at the Paris Bar
Elie Cohen, Lawyer at the Essonne Bar
Oudy Ch. Bloch, Lawyer at the Bars of Paris and New York
Roselyne Hu, lawyer at the Hauts-de-Seine bar
Gauthier Lecocq, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Stephane Maugendre, lawyer at the Seine-Saint-Denis Bar
Sarah Saldmann, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Andréa Assor-Doukhan, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Audric Dupuis, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
David Libeskind, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Rusen Aytaç, lawyer at the Paris Bar
Mbaye-Yacine Thiam, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Lina Belkora Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Antoinette Frety, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Edmond Frety, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Laurence Levy, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Valentine Tessier, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Corinne Matouk, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Juliette Savie, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Cécilia Calvez, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Sofia Bougrine, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Iris Le Flour, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Valentine Reberioux, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Louise Bouchain, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Lotfi Benkanoun, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Sandra Ammar, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Estelle Levy, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Avi Bitton, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Virginie Benmayor, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Julie February, Lawyer at the Seine Bar
Coralie Binder, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Stanislas Darrois, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Elwin Bauchart, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Mahé Giraux, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Stéphanie Mouci, Lawyer at the Bar of Versailles
Florence Rouas, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Margaret Bojczy Cerf, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Corinna Kerfant, Lawyer at the Bar of Versailles
Laurent Simeray, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Laure Denervaux, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Helena Christidis, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Agathe de Marcillac, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Olivier Pardo, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Matthieu Boissavy, lawyer at the Paris Bar
Daphne Pugliesi, Lawyer at the Paris Bar
Sophie Soubiran, Lawyer at the Paris Bar