The National Assembly passed the night of Monday to Tuesday, the bill on the distribution of litigation and the relief of certain court proceedings. This text, which was adopted on first reading by the Senate, will enable rights holders to seek damages in connection with a criminal order, the procedure adopted to deal with cases referred to prosecutors by the Hadopi.
The order is a criminal court proceedings simplified, without debate, and reserved for offenses punishable by fines and light. It is commonly used to punish traffic offenses. Made by a judge, the criminal order is not to be substantiated, and is made without the accused to be heard. So far, the criminal orders did not allow plaintiffs to seek damages for which an adversarial procedure was mandatory.
During the discussion on the web laws, the choice was the procedure in order to process criminal records sent to suspected downloaders floor. The law provides a mechanism called "graduated response" after two warnings by e-mail and by registered mail, to notify the owner of an Internet connection that it has been used to illegally download, the High Authority may decide, after finding a new offense, to refer the matter to justice, in the determination of a possible sanction (cut access, fine ...).
A very simplified procedure:
The penal order had the advantage of avoiding congestion in the courts in case of overcrowding cases of illegal downloading, for opponents of the law, however, the lack of adversarial necessarily weakens the rights of defense, in procedures where the technical challenges can be numerous.
The web laws also provided that the beneficiaries can bring civil and seek damages. The studios and publishers have been able to seek financial compensation to downloaders, very simplified, without going through the attendance - expensive - lawyers in many proceedings. But this provision of the web laws had been censured by the Constitutional Council, not on the merits, but on the form this new possibility was not sufficiently specified by law. This has now changed.
Despite the attempts of the High Authority to put forward its more educational role - with the launch to great fanfare of "label PUR" (promotion of responsible use) to platforms offering online offers - this new legal still contributes to focus on its repressive role. Especially as the High Authority has confirmed that ten Internet users, who had been spotted three times, will soon be convened by the Hadopi. Possibly after hearing their explanations, the High Authority will send its first cases to the prosecutor.
