Wiretapping

Verified 22 November 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Who can be wiretapped ? In what situation? For how long? We'll show you the main rules to know on judicial wiretapping and administrative.

Judicial

During a judicial inquiry, on examining magistrate can order one telephone tapping in the field of offense and crime if the penalty incurred is 3 years or more in prison and that the case demands it. The decision is taken for a maximum duration of 4 months renewable, not exceeding 1 year or 2 years depending on the offense.

The examining magistrate may also order a wiretap as part of a information open to search for causes of death or worrying disappearance of a person. The decision shall be taken for a period of 2 months renewable.

In the 2 cases, the decision of the judge is written and reasoned.

FYI  

If you are victim of a offense clerk on your phone line, you can ask to judge that it is wiretapping.

The examining magistrate, or the judicial police officer (OPJ) designated by him, control the implementation of wiretapping.

The judge, the OPJ or the judicial police officer (APJ) write a report for each record.

The report indicates the date and start and end times of registration.

The recordings are placed under sealed closed.

Judge, OPJ or APJ transcribe recordings and draw up minutes.

An interpreter transcribed in french the foreign language recordings.

FYI  

The investigating judge must inform the bastler if he decides to wiretap a lawyer.

The recordings are destroyed to the end of period during which the offense may be continued :

No, you you can't challenge the judge's decision to conduct a wiretap.

Subsequently, you can challenge the validity of the wiretap decision, as the case may be, before the correctional court or the court of appeal.

Administrative

The administration can listen to your phone conversations for one of the following reasons :

  • Defense of national independence, of integrity of the territory and national defense
  • Defense of major interests of the foreign policy, of the execution of European commitments and international of the France, prevention of all foreign interference
  • Defense of economic interests, industrialists and scientists major of the France
  • Prevention of the terrorism
  • Prevention of damage to the republican form of institutions
  • Prevention the reconstitution or maintenance of groups of fight and dissolved private militias
  • Prevention of mob violence seriously bearing damage to the public peace
  • Prevention of the criminality and the organized crime
  • Prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

FYI  

Prison administration may be authorized to listen to telephone conversations of an inmate for prevent escape and ensuring security in prison.

The minister responsible for defense, of the interior, of the justice, of the economy, of budget or customs must send a wiretap proposal to the Prime Minister.

The proposal must be written and justified.

The Prime Minister authorizes wiretapping telephone after consulting the NCTR: titleContent.

The authorization is valid to maximum 4 months.

The authorization is renewable in accordance with the same procedure.

Recording a telephone conversation is destroyed not later than 30 days from the date of collection of the information, with exceptions.

Only the information concerning the national security are transcripts.

The transcription must be destroyed once its preservation is no longer essential.

You can ask to the NCTR: titleContent of check if you are, or have been, wiretapped in a manner that illegal.

However, the NCTR: titleContent can't tell your if you are, or have been, wiretapped.

You must send your complaint by mail.

The CNCTR will loose by post when verifications have been do.

After to have made a complaint to the CNCTR, you can ask to Council of State of check if you are or have been wiretapped in a manner that illegal.

You have a two-month period to bring the matter before the Council of State on receipt of the letter from the NCTR: titleContent.

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