Proceedings
1. Before the preliminary hearing
At this hearing, the president of the Assize Court checks to see if the accused has a lawyer to defend himself. Each litigant is also given the opportunity to file a list of witnesses they wish to call at the hearing.
2. Preliminary hearing
This preliminary hearing is public and adversarial and precedes the debates on the merits. Only the jury is not yet present. A number of administrative matters are settled at this hearing, including the compilation of the list of witnesses and the investigation of any irregularities and nullities in the proceedings.
3. Process on the merits
The trial at the Assize Court itself always takes several consecutive days. The first step is to assemble the jury. After this, the prosecution reads the indictment document so that the accused knows exactly what he is accused of. The accused himself is also questioned at the hearing by the president of the Assize Court. After this, the prosecution witnesses, civil party witnesses and defense witnesses are heard.
After the witness statements, it is again the prosecution's turn to argue its claim. They claim the appropriate punishment. The civil parties then have the opportunity to plead their claims for damages.
After these pleas, it is finally the accused's turn to enter his plea. After any rebuttals, the defense always has the last word.
The presiding judge then formulates the questions to be answered by the jury and explains to them how to proceed. Indeed, the jury must decide the question of guilt (is the defendant guilty of the charges against him?) in an initial reasoned verdict.
If they decide that the accused is effectively guilty of the charges against him, the prosecution and the defense are given another opportunity to argue on sentencing. After this, the jury deliberates on the sentencing with the Court and the Court reads this second reasoned verdict publicly.
An Assize Court judgment is final. There is no possibility of appeal against an Assize Court ruling. Only an appeal in cassation can be lodged. It is therefore very important to have good assistance from a specialized counsel from the beginning of the investigation and trial.