Two routes to a single hearing
During ordinary educational-probation proceedings, the juvenile court may decide at the guilt hearing to combine guilt and sentencing. It must hear the parties, give reasons, have sufficient information about the child and consider an educational probation period unnecessary.
A different route refers the case directly for a single hearing: an exceptional prosecution decision after the child is brought before the prosecutor under Article L. 423-4, or an investigating judge’s order referring the case to that court. The legal basis stated in the initiating document determines which conditions apply.
Conditions for direct prosecution after referral
After the child is brought before the prosecutor, this route is available only exceptionally. The offence must carry at least five years’ imprisonment for a child under sixteen, or at least three years for a child aged sixteen or over.
There must also be either a qualifying previous judicial measure, investigation, security measure, finding of guilt or penalty supported by a report less than one year old, or a simultaneous prosecution for refusing specified identification procedures. Those conditions should not be transferred mechanically to a referral following a judicial investigation.
What happens before the juvenile court
The juvenile court is a collegiate court, unlike a juvenile judge sitting alone, and the hearing takes place before a restricted public. The child has a lawyer; the court hears the child, prosecutor, legal representatives, civil party and any witnesses among those involved.
The court decides guilt first. An acquittal ends the criminal case; if guilt is established, the court immediately considers sentencing and may decide the victim’s compensation claim. Even with one hearing date, the defence should keep three subjects separate: allegations, civil liability and educational circumstances.
The court’s powers depend on the route
Where the juvenile court itself combines the stages under Article L. 521-2, it may impose a criminal penalty only if the child has a qualifying previous judicial decision and the case contains the required report less than one year old. An educational sanction remains legally distinct from a penalty.
Where the court was directly seised under Articles L. 423-4 and L. 521-26, it may instead give a reasoned decision, based on the child’s personality and prospects, to use educational probation. If the child appears in custody and the court chooses that course, the child must be released.
Essential checks and practical preparation
Identify in the summons or referral order the court, allegations, statutory route and date of the educational report relied on. Check the relevant age, any applicable penalty threshold, the type of previous decision and whether the report is actually in the case file.
Then prepare a chronology of the allegations and disputed evidence, a separate statement of the civil claims and a fully current educational file. The child should understand that the issues follow quickly and be ready to move from the allegations to a concrete account of progress without merging them.
Discuss your situation
You can send the firm the essential facts, relevant dates and any known deadline.
Frequently asked questions
Can every serious case be prosecuted directly at a single hearing?
No. After referral to the prosecutor, the penalty threshold alone is insufficient: the child’s age and one of the additional conditions in Article L. 423-4 must also be satisfied. A referral following a judicial investigation has a different basis that must be checked in the order.
Must the juvenile court always sentence the child on the same day?
No. When directly seised under Article L. 521-26, it may give a reasoned decision to move to educational probation. Under Article L. 521-2, it combines the two stages only if it has sufficient information and considers that intermediate period unnecessary.