Procedure: what happens next

YESTERDAY’S DECISION by the High Court to extradite Ian Bailey to France is just one in a series of hurdles to be cleared by the investigating French magistrate, Judge Patrick Gachon, if Mr Bailey is to be tried for the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier.

As well as the possibilities of a Supreme Court appeal and a subsequent appeal to the European Court of Justice, there are also several stages to the criminal process in France which would have to be undergone.

If Mr Bailey is to be extradited to France, he would be presented, as part of the phase of l’instruction, before Judge Gachon, who would confirm the charge against him and then begin the process of examining him on the evidence.

Mr Bailey would be immediately provided with a lawyer, but a decision on whether to remand him in custody would be made by another judge. Mr Bailey would be given access to the investigation file and would be cross-examined by Judge Gachon about the evidence, including the 260 or so witness statements.

At the end of that procedure, known as the mis en examen, Judge Gachon would present his findings to a three-judge court, the Chambre d’Accusation, which would decide whether there was enough evidence for the prosecution case against Mr Bailey to proceed. If three judges felt Mr Bailey had a case to answer he would be sent forward for trial at the Cour d’Assises, where his case would be tried by a jury composed of three judges and nine civilian jurors.

During this trial, Mr Bailey would be questioned by his own defence team and the state prosecutor, while the family of the late Ms Toscan du Plantier would also have an entitlement to question him through their lawyer.

Getting a case to trial at the Cour d’Assises could take up to two years, with a majority of eight or more of the 12 jurors required to return a guilty verdict.