centers specializing in domestic violence set up in all courts

The centers dedicated to domestic violence are generalized to all courts and courts of appeal from Monday. They must allow “the sharing of information” between magistrates concerned by the same family situation.

This was a measure awaited by associations fighting against violence against women. Judicial centers specializing in domestic violence come into force on Monday January 1, in the 164 courts and 36 courts of appeal in France. These centers should make it possible to better coordinate the decisions of judges and avoid leading to femicide.

Women who report violence but lose custody of their child, family court judges who detect potential violence without being able to do anything… It is in particular to avoid this type of situation that these specialized centers are set up from January 1st. These are not specialized jurisdictions as for terrorism, but staff trained and identified within all jurisdictions, including coordinating magistrates responsible for better circulating information between services.

Recruitments planned in the coming months

Clément Bergère is the president of the Sens judicial court, which since October 2023 has had a center dedicated to intra-family violence. “Around the table, we have the prosecutor who prosecutes the offenses, the family affairs judge who must manage the separation, the criminal judge who will possibly judge violence, the sentence enforcement judge, etc… All these magistrates who until now were separated will work as a team on the management of a situation and share the information that each may have, he assures. This fills a lack of information sharing, since we did not have the tools until now to share this information.”.

It remains to be seen whether the resources and staff will be sufficient, particularly in the smallest jurisdictions. Without time dedicated to this function, for the senior magistrates, this measure will only be for display, warn the unions. “We will find the time because it is a priority policy, assures Clément Bergère. Recruitments of magistrates and additional clerks have been announced [par le ministère de la Justice]. We are going to use resources because we know that we are expected to do this and that it is a subject that cannot be swept under the rug.”.

“Justice in the broad sense is mobilized on this subject, perhaps like never before.”

Clément Bergère, president of the judicial court of Sens

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“We must not hesitate to push open the door of the police station, the court, the point of access to the law. These are subjects on which objectively progress will always be made, but we have expertise, we have competence so it We must absolutely not give up on denouncing facts of this nature.”indicates the magistrate.