Report on Luxembourg

Covolo, Valentina

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-01186-4_10

Report on Luxembourg

Valentina Covolo¹⁵

Chapter
First Online: 22 January 2019

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Part of the book series: Legal Studies in International, European and Comparative Criminal Law ((LSCL,volume 2))

Abstract

In the last decade, Luxembourg law governing in absentia proceedings was subject to legislative reforms intended to enhance the rights of suspects and accused persons. In particular, the amendments adopted in 2008 and 2017 aimed to make national criminal procedure compliant with the ECtHR case law. Against this background, the present contribution aims to analyse legal framework governing in absentia and inaudito reo proceedings in Luxembourg.

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Notes

1.
Art. 12 Luxembourg Constitution.
2.
Art. 13 Luxembourg Constitution.
3.
Art. 15 Luxembourg Constitution.
4.
Gerkrath (2019).
5.
Petschko et al. (2013), pp. 449–472, at 450.
6.
Note of the General Public Prosecutor, 13 May 2011, implementing guidelines for the compliance with the ECtHR, Salduz v. Turkey, judgement of 27 November 2008, Appl. No. 366391/02.
7.
Law of 8 March 2017 strengthening procedural guarantees in criminal matters, Mem. A No. 346, 30.03.2017.
8.
Art. 3-6 (1) CCP.
9.
Art. 4-1 (3) CCP.
10.
Law of 10 August 1991 on the profession of lawyer, Mem. A No. 58, 27.08.1991.
11.
Art. 81(8) CCP.
12.
CSJ Ch.c.C., 8 July 2013, No. 369/13, 370/13, 371/13, 372/13 and 374/13.
13.
ECtHR, Lagerblom v. Sweden, judgement of 14 January 2003, Appl. No. 26891/95, para 50.
14.
ECtHR, Correia de Matos v. Portugal, judgment of 1 April 1999, Appl. No. 48188/99.
15.
Art. 81(4) CCP.
16.
Law of 18 February 1885 related to appeals and proceedings before the Court of Cassation, Mem. A No. 23, 18.04.1885.
17.
ECtHR, Van Geyseghem v. Belgium, judgement of 21 January 1999, Appl. No. 26103/95, para 33.
18.
Law of 27 June 2008 modifying Articles 116, 126, 127, 152, 185, 188, 620 and 621 Code of Criminal Procedure, Mem. A No. 97, 09.07.2008.
19.
Art. 185 (1), para 3 CCP.
20.
Art. 620 CCP.
21.
Art. 621 (1) CCP.
22.
Art. 185 (1) para 4 CCP.
23.
Franchimont et al. (2009), p. 709.
24.
Law of 27 June 2008 modifying Articles 116, 126, 127, 152, 185, 188, 620 and 621 Code of Criminal Procedure, Mem. A No. 97, 09.07.2008.
25.
Art. 185(1) CCP. It should be noticed that the provision applies to Criminal Courts having jurisdiction over offences punished by imprisonment. Separate provisions govern in absentia proceedings before the Trial Courts having jurisdiction over minor offences not punished with imprisonment (juge de police). See Art. 149 et seq.
26.
Art. 185 CCP.
27.
ECtHR, Poitrimol v. France, judgement of 23 November 1993, Appl. No. 14032/88, para 35.
28.
Art. 185 (2) CCP.
29.
Art. 187 CCP.
30.
Art. 185 (3) and (4) CCP.
31.
Ibid.
32.
Art. 46 CCP.
33.
Indeed, Luxembourg criminal justice system adopts the principle of discretionary prosecution (opportunité des poursuites). Art. 23 CCP.
34.
Vogel (2009), p. 60.
35.
Art. 24-1 (1) CCP. More specifically, when conducting a preliminary investigation of minor offences punished by imprisonment not exceeding 1 year, the Public Prosecutor may request the Examining Magistrate to order searches, seizures, the hearing of a witness or an expertise.
36.
Art. 50 CCP.
37.
Art. 49 CCP.
38.
Art. 91 CCP.
39.
Art. 94-1 CCP.
40.
Art. 97 para 2 CCP.
41.
Art. 102 CCP.
42.
Art. 94 and 94-1 CCP.
43.
Art. 93 CCP.
44.
Art. 3-6 CCP.
45.
Art. 81(1) CCP.
46.
Art. 85 (1) CCP.
47.
Art. 94 para 1 CCP.
48.
Art. 94 para 2 CCP.
49.
Art. 94-3 CCP.
50.
Art. 113 and 116 (1) CCP.
51.
Art. 34 CCP.
52.
For a detailed analysis, see Petschko et al. (2013), pp. 460–461 (fn 5).
53.
Art. 69 (3) CCP.
54.
Art. 87 (2) CCP.
55.
Vogel (2009), p. 133.
56.
Art. 133 CCP.
57.
Vogel (2009), p. 133.
58.
Art. 126 CCP.
59.
Art. 190 (2) and 222 CCP.
60.
Art. 190 (3) CCP.
61.
Art. 185 (1) CCP.
62.
Law of 24 February 20115 modifying the Code of Criminal Procedure with the aim to introduce the “jugement sur accord”, Mem. A No. 33, 04.03.2015. For a detailed analysis, De Geest (2014), pp. 51–56.
63.
Art. 563 para 2 CCP.
64.
Art. 564 para 1 CCP.
65.
Art. 565 CCP.
66.
Art. 568 and 569 CCP.
67.
Art. 564 para 2 CCP.
68.
Art. 564 para 4 CCP.
69.
Art. 564 para 5 CCP.
70.
Art. 570 et seq. CCP.
71.
On the scope of Article 6 of the ECHR with regard to alternative proceedings and the judicial review to be undertaken by the trial court, see ECtHR, Natsvlishvili and Togonidze v. Georgia, judgement of 29 April 2014, Appl. No. 9043/05, para 92.
72.
Art. 570 CCP.
73.
Art. 572 CCP.
74.
Art. 185 CCP.
75.
See infra, Sect. 5.
76.
Art. 573 CCP.
77.
Art. 573 CCP.
78.
Art. 575 (1) CCP.
79.
Art. 575 (2) CCP.
80.
Art. 575 (3) CCP.
81.
Art. 576 CCP.
82.
On the different role of the judge with regard to evidence-gathering in inquisitorial and accusatorial systems, see Pradel (2008), pp. 262–263.
83.
See Sect. 3.2.
84.
Vogel (2009), p. 262.
85.
Art. 190-1 and 153 CCP.
86.
Vogel (2009), p. 262.
87.
Art. 190-1 (3) CCP.
88.
Art. 157 CCP.
89.
CSJ corr. 6 December 2011, No. 586/11 V.
90.
Art. 158-1 CCP.
91.
Vogel (2009), p. 369.
92.
Art. 210 CCP.
93.
CSJ corr. 18 November 2015, No. 511/15X.
94.
Vogel (2009), p. 397.
95.
CSJ corr. 12 March 2012, No. 141/12 VI.
96.
CSJ corr. 28 April 2015, No. 158/15 V.
97.
Vogel (2009), p. 397.
98.
Art. 190-1 (2) CCP.
99.
Art. 190-1 (3) CCP.
100.
CSJ corr. 4 April 2011, No. 186/11 VI.
101.
CSJ corr. 13 February 2007, No.101/07 V.
102.
CSJ corr. 23 January 2007, No. 51/07 V.
103.
Art. 190-1 (3) CCP. See also CSJ corr. 21 October 2015, No. 421/15 X.
104.
CSJ corr. 4 April 2006, No. 190/06 V.
105.
Depending on the seriousness of the offence prosecuted and therefore the competent court delivering the contested judgement, the right to appeal is enshrined in Articles 172, 199 and 221 CCP.
106.
Art. 210 CCP.
107.
CSJ corr. 18 November 2015, No. 511/15X.
108.
See Sect. 5.1.
109.
Vogel (2009), p. 277.
110.
Art. 416 CCP.
111.
Art. 408 CCP.
112.
ECtHR, Hermi v. Italy, judgement of 18 October 2006, Appl. No. 18114/02, para. 61.
113.
For instance, undercover investigations. Art. 48-17 CCP.
114.
Bill of law No. 6921 adapting the criminal procedure to the needs related to the fight against terrorism, Doc. 6921/00, 2 December 2015.
115.
Art. 56 CCP.
116.
Art. 147 para 2 CCP.
117.
Art. 3 CCP.
118.
Art. 57 CCP.
119.
Vogel (2009), p. 19.
120.
Art. 4-1 CCP.
121.
Art. 85 (1) CCP.
122.
Art. 81 (8) CCP.
123.
Art. 69 CCP.
124.
Art. 88 CCP.
125.
Art, 82 CCP.
126.
Art. 127 (3) CCP.
127.
Art. 153 CCP.
128.
CSJ corr. 28 April 2015, No. 158/15 V.
129.
Art. 202 CCP.
130.
Art. 185 (1) para 1 CCP. The provision refers to criminal proceedings before Courts having jurisdiction over offences punished by imprisonment not exceeding 5 years (Chambre correctionnelle du tribunal d’arrondissement). It also applies to Criminal Courts called upon to rule of most serious crimes (Chambre criminelle du tribunal d’arrondissement). Art. 222 CCP.
131.
Art. 8 Directive (EU) 2016/343 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at the trial in criminal proceedings, OJ L 65/1.
132.
Art. 146 para 1 CCP.
133.
Art. 146 para 2 CCP.
134.
Art. 146 para 3 CCP.
135.
Art. 146 para 4, 1) CCP.
136.
Art. 146 para 4, 2) CCP.
137.
Vogel (2009), pp. 293 ff.
138.
Ibidem, p. 293.
139.
Procedural requirements and related nullities that apply to summons to appear in court are laid down under Articles 381 et seq. CCP.
140.
Art. 185 CCP. The provision refers to criminal proceedings before Courts having jurisdiction over offences punished by imprisonment not exceeding 5 years (Chambre correctionnelle du tribunal d’arrondissement). It also applies to tribunals competent for misdemeanors (Tribunal de police) and most serious crimes (Chambre criminelle di tribunal d’arrondissement). See respectively art. 152 CCP; CSJ crim. 21 May 2014, No. 18/14.
141.
Conseil d’Etat, Opinion of 13.2.2007, Bill of law No. 5597 modifying Articles 116, 152, 185 and 188 of Luxembourg Code of Criminal Procedure and repealing Articles 127 (5) and 186 of the above-mentioned code.
142.
Law of 27 June 2008 modifying Articles 116, 126, 127, 152, 185, 188, 620 and 621 Code of Criminal Procedure, Mem. A No. 97, 09.07.2008.
143.
Conseil d’Etat, Opinion of 13.2.2007, cited above.
144.
Art. 185 (1) para 1 CCP.
145.
CSJ corr. 29 June 2004, No. 227/04 V.
146.
CSJ corr. 5 May 2006, No. 215/06 V; CSJ corr. 11 December 2007, No. 586/07 V.
147.
CSJ corr. 13 November 2007, No. 521/07 V.
148.
Art. 185 (3) CCP.
149.
CSJ corr. 22 November 2011, No. 552/11 V.
150.
CSJ corr. 5 June 2013, No. 313/12 X.
151.
CSJ corr. 20 March 2012, No. 162/12 V; CSJ corr. 10 July 2015, No. 310/15 V.
152.
Art. 185 (4) CCP.
153.
CSJ crim. 17 December 2014, No. 45/14.
154.
Art. 185 (4) CCP.
155.
Art. 185 (4) para 3 CCP.
156.
Art. 208 CCP.
157.
Art. 187 para CCP.
158.
Art. 187 para 4 CCP.
159.
Vogel (2009), p. 304.
160.
Art. 187 para 1 CCP.
161.
CSJ corr. 39 March 2009, No. 172/09 VI.
162.
Vogel (2009), pp. 307–308.
163.
Art. 199 et seq. CCP.
164.
CSJ corr. 20 February 2013, No. 98/13 X.
165.
Art. 187 para 1 CCP.
166.
Art. 188 para 1 CCP.
167.
Art. 188 para 2 CCP.
168.
CSJ corr. 24 November 2009, No. 516/09 V.
169.
CSJ corr. 15 May 2007, No. 250/07 V.
170.
Art. 394 et seq. CCP.
171.
Ruggeri (2016), p. 43.
172.
Art. 394 CCP.
173.
Art. 395 CCP.
174.
Art. 396 CCP.
175.
Art. 396 b) CCP.
176.
Art. 397 CCP.
177.
Art. 398 para 2 CCP.
178.
Art. 398 para 1 CCP.
179.
Art. 400 CCP.
180.
Art. 399 CCP.
181.
Art. 401 CCP.
182.
See supra, Sect. 5.2.
183.
Art. 399 b) and 402 CCP- CCP.
184.
Modified Law of 17 March 2004 related to the European arrest warrant and surrender procedures between the Member States of the European Union, Mem. 2004, p. 588. Hereinafter Law implementing the EAW.
185.
Law of 8 March 2017 strengthening procedural guarantees in criminal matters, Mem. A No. 346, 30.03.2017.
186.
Art. 7 para 2 of the 2004 law implementing the EAW.
187.
Art. 7 para 2 of the 2004 law implementing the EAW.
188.
Art. 8 Law implementing the EAW.
189.
Art. 8 para 1 Law implementing the EAW.
190.
Art. 9 Law implementing the EAW.
191.
Art. 10 Law implementing the EAW.
192.
Art. 7-1 (5) of the 2004 Law implementing the EAW.
193.
Before the legislative reform, Luxembourg law implementing the EAW granted the requested person the right of access to a lawyer where he/she is heard by the Luxembourg executing authorities and in connection with remedies related to the execution of a EAW. In particular, the presence of a lawyer was mentioned in relation to the hearing before the examining magistrate to establish the arrested person’s identity (intérrogatoire d’identité), where the arrested person indicates that he consents to surrender or renounces his entitlement to the “speciality rule”, the hearing before the pre-trial chamber competent to rule upon the execution of the EAW and the appeal against the latter’s decision, as well as in the procedure executing a EAW for the purpose of prosecuting other than for which the surrender was requested.
194.
Art. 7-1 of the 2004 law implementing the EAW.
195.
Art. 12 para 12 Law implementing the EAW.
196.
Art. 12 para 3 Law implementing the EAW.
197.
Art. 12 (4) Law implementing the EAW.
198.
Art. 13 Law implementing the EAW.
199.
Art. 22 Law of 12 April 2015 modifying the law implementing the European arrest warrant, Mem. A No. 74, 17.04.2015.
200.
Art. 5 (9) Law implementing the EAW.
201.
Art. 19 Law implementing the EAW.
202.
Bill of law No. 7152/00 implementing Directive 2014/41/EU on the European Investigation Order and modifying the CCP.
203.
Directive 2014/41/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 3 April 2014 regarding the European Investigation Order in criminal matters, OJ L 130, 1.5.2014, p. 1.
204.
Recital 7 Directive 2014/41/EU.
205.
See Sect. 3.2, Personal participation in the pre-trial inquiry.
206.
Art. 9 (4) Law of 8 August 2000 concerning judicial cooperation in criminal matters, as modified by the law of 27.10.2010, Mem. A No. 13, 21.1.2011.
207.
Ibidem.
208.
CA, 1st February 1989, No. 6/89.
209.
Report of Judicial authorities (2015), p. 61. www.justice.public.lu/fr/publications/index.html, last accessed 31.7.2018.
210.
CSJ Ch.c.C. 24 April 2012, No. 252/12.
211.
See Sect. 3.2, Personal participation in the pre-trial inquiry.
212.
CSJ crim. 19 February 2013, No. 3/13.
213.
Conseil d’Etat, Opinion of 13.2.2007, Bill of law No. 5597 modifying Articles 116, 152, 185 and 188 of Luxembourg Code of Criminal Procedure and repealing Articles 127 (5) and 186 of the above-mentioned code, p. 2.
214.
ECtHR, Van Geysem v. Belgium, judgement of 29 January 1999, Appl. No. 26103/95, para 33.
215.
Art. 185 CCP.
216.
ECtHR, Sejdovic v. Italy, judgement of 1 March 2006, Appl. No. 56581/00, para 81.
217.
Art. 401 CCP.
218.
Directive (EU) 2016/343 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at the trial in criminal proceedings.
219.
Art. 9 Directive 2016/343/EU.
220.
Recital 41 Directive 2016/343/EU.
221.
New Article 184 CCP.
222.
Bill of law No. 6758 strengthening procedural safeguards in criminal matters, doc. 6758/00, 17 February 2015, p. 52.

Abbreviations

CA:: Cour d’appel
CCP:: Code of Criminal Procedure
Ch.c.C.:: Chambre du conseil de la Cour d’appel
CSJ corr.:: Cour Supérieure de Justice, chambre correctionnelle
CSJ crim.:: Court Supérieure de Justice, chambre criminelle
ECHR:: European Convention on Human Rights
ECtHR:: European Court of Human Rights

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University of Luxembourg, Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Valentina Covolo

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Department of Law, and Political, Economic and Social Sciences, University of Piemonte Orientale, Alessandria, Italy
Serena Quattrocolo
Law Department, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
Stefano Ruggeri

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Covolo, V. (2019). Report on Luxembourg. In: Quattrocolo, S., Ruggeri, S. (eds) Personal Participation in Criminal Proceedings. Legal Studies in International, European and Comparative Criminal Law, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01186-4_10

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01186-4_10
Published: 22 January 2019
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
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