The Court of Assizes is the criminal tribunal in France, Italy, and Belgium that tries the most serious felonies, using a mixed panel of professional judges and ordinary citizens drawn by lot to decide guilt and set the sentence. In France, a 2023 reform narrowed its reach: it now hears only crimes punishable by more than twenty years in prison, such as murder, assassination, and aggravated rape, along with all criminal appeals.1Sénat. Cours Criminelles Départementales Lesser felonies, those carrying up to twenty years, now go to a new body called the departmental criminal court, which is staffed by five professional judges and no jury.
What the Court Tries in France Today
Article 231 of the Code of Criminal Procedure gives the Court of Assizes “full jurisdiction to try, at first instance or on appeal, the persons referred to it by the decision to indict,” and bars it from hearing any other charge. A case only reaches it after a lengthy pretrial investigation by an examining magistrate concludes that the evidence supports a felony-level charge.
Before 2023, nearly all French felonies went through this court. Since January 1 of that year, the jury trial is reserved for the most extreme cases. Everything short of that threshold is routed to the new judge-only departmental criminal court.
Who Sits on the Bench
At first instance, the court seats three professional magistrates and six citizen jurors, for a total of nine. The presiding judge, called the President, directs the proceedings, with two assessors alongside. On appeal, the panel grows to three judges and nine jurors, totaling twelve.2Service Public. Juror of Assizes
Jurors are drawn by lot from the electoral rolls. A juror must be a French citizen over twenty-three, able to read and write in French, and in full possession of civil and political rights. People with serious criminal convictions are excluded, as are those whose professional roles create conflicts of interest. Before the trial opens, both sides may strike prospective jurors without giving a reason: the accused can reject up to four, the prosecution up to three, and each rejected name is replaced by another drawn at random.3Service Public. Trial Before the Assize Court or the Criminal Court
The accused must be represented by a lawyer. If none is chosen, the President appoints one, and the trial cannot proceed without defense counsel present. Victims and civil parties are not required to hire a lawyer.4European e-Justice Portal. Legal Aid
How a Trial Unfolds
The case file compiled during the pretrial investigation forms the backbone of the hearing. It contains physical evidence, forensic reports, digital records, and witness statements gathered by the examining magistrate, and judges and jurors receive these materials in advance. But the court operates on the principle of orality: the verdict must rest on what is presented and argued at the hearing itself, not simply on what sits in the written file.
The trial follows a set sequence. The President opens by presenting the facts, summarizing both favorable and unfavorable evidence. The clerk reads the indictment. The President then questions the accused and takes their statements, followed by testimony from witnesses, experts, and victims. Once testimony concludes, the victim or their lawyer speaks, the prosecutor presents sentencing recommendations or asks for acquittal, and the defense delivers closing arguments. The accused always gets the last word.3Service Public. Trial Before the Assize Court or the Criminal Court
How a Verdict Is Reached
When arguments end, all nine members retire together to a private room, and they cannot leave until decisions are reached. The process has two phases: guilt first, then sentencing if the accused is found guilty. Judges and jurors vote side by side with equal weight, using written secret ballots stamped with the court’s seal. Each voter writes “yes” or “no” in a manner designed to prevent anyone from seeing the response. Blank or void ballots count in favor of the accused.5Legislationline. France Code of Criminal Procedure
Conviction at first instance requires at least seven votes out of nine. On appeal, at least eight of twelve are needed. This qualified majority exists specifically to guard against wrongful conviction: a bare majority is not enough to find someone guilty of the most serious crimes in French law.3Service Public. Trial Before the Assize Court or the Criminal Court Sentencing is decided by absolute majority, but imposing the maximum possible sentence requires the same elevated threshold of seven or eight votes depending on the level of the court.
Appeals
Assize verdicts used to be final. A 2000 reform created an appellate path before a second Court of Assizes with a larger jury of nine citizens and three judges, giving either the defendant or the prosecutor the right to request a complete retrial of the facts and evidence.2Service Public. Juror of Assizes
Above the appellate assize court sits the Court of Cassation, which reviews legal questions only. It does not re-examine the facts or hear new evidence; it checks whether the lower court correctly applied the law and followed proper procedure. A party seeking this review has ten free days from the contested decision to file. For press offenses like defamation, the deadline is three days.6Service Public. Challenge a Judgment – Appeal to the Court of Cassation
Time in Custody Before Trial
Because assize cases involve the gravest offenses, defendants often spend substantial time in detention before trial. French law caps that time. The initial period for a felony is one year, renewable in six-month increments up to a total of two years for offenses carrying less than twenty years’ imprisonment. For more severe crimes the ceiling rises to three years, and for certain categories such as terrorism, drug trafficking, and organized crime it can reach four. An investigating chamber may add an additional four months if the investigation requires it or if there is a serious risk to public safety. Further delay can occur between the referral order and the actual trial date.
The Court in Italy and Belgium
Italy’s Corte d’Assise uses the same mixed-panel idea with a different ratio: two professional judges and six lay jurors, whose votes carry equal weight to those of the judges.7Judiciaries Worldwide. Italy It has jurisdiction over crimes carrying a maximum penalty of twenty-four years or life imprisonment, including murder and offenses against the state.8Bureau of Justice Statistics. World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems – Italy Appeals go to the Corte d’Assise d’Appello, which mirrors the trial court’s composition.
Belgium keeps a Court of Assizes in each of its ten provinces and in the Brussels administrative district. It is the only Belgian court that uses a jury, and unlike France’s permanent courts it is not a standing body: it is convened only when an accused person is formally sent before it. Belgian reforms have repeatedly debated abolishing the institution in favor of professional panels.
Historical Roots
The word “assize” traces back to medieval England, where it meant the sittings of itinerant royal justices who traveled from county to county administering the king’s law. The Assize of Clarendon in 1166 formalized the system, directing sheriffs to bring accused persons before traveling justices rather than relying on local tribunals. England replaced its assize system with permanent Crown Courts in 1972, but by then the concept had already migrated to continental Europe, where France, Belgium, and Italy each developed hybrid courts combining career magistrates with lay jurors for the gravest criminal matters.