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En matière délictuelle

English translation: See explanation

19:06 Nov 3, 2009

French to English translations [PRO]
Law/Patents - Law: Contract(s) / Policy custody proceedings

French term or phrase: En matière délictuelle

Dear fellow translators,

Here is the context:

En matière criminelle, le mineur âgé de 16 à moins de 18 ans ne peut être placé en GAV pour une durée supérieure à 48 heures.
*En matière délictuelle*, le mineur âgé de 16 à moins de 18 ans ne peut être placé en GAV pour une durée supérieure à 36 heures.

Many thanks again as always. I am unable to differentiate the difference between "matière criminelle" and "matière délictuelle".

Chris Hall KudoZ activity Questions: 60 (3 open) (8 closed without grading) Answers: 276 United Kingdom
Local time: 11:46

English translation:See explanation

Explanation:
French criminal offences are divided into 3 categories from less serious to more serious: 'contraventions', 'délits' and 'crimes', all of which are tried in different courts. Martin Weston (An English Reader's Guide to the French Legal System - a fabulous and very readable reference book) suggests 'minor offences', 'major offences' and 'serious crimes' but it might be sensible to leave the French in brackets, as the two systems don't really tie up.

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Note added at 12 hrs (2009-11-04 07:42:48 GMT)
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Again following Weston, I'd be wary of going down the summary / indictable offences route, partly because the English bipartite system doesn't map onto the French tripartite one (he classes both 'délits' and 'crimes' as indictable anyway) and partly because it suggests an equivalence that doesn't really exist.

Selected response from:

Karen Stokes
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:46

Grading comment

Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +4

See explanation

Karen Stokes

4 +1

non-indictable offenses

B D Finch

Summary of reference entries provided

Youth Crime

ormiston

Discussion entries: 6

Answers

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

non-indictable offenses

Explanation:
"The Criminal Law Act 1967 abolished the distinction between felony crimes and misdemeanors and introduced the concept of arrestable and non-arrestable offenses. An arrestable offense is defined as any offense for which the sentence is fixed by law (for example, murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment); or for which an offender may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of five years or more, as well as certain other specified offenses ...

"For procedural purposes all criminal offenses are classified into one of three categories: indictable only, triable-either-way, or summary. An indictable-only offense may only be tried in a Crown Court before a jury, and requires an indictment which is a formal document setting out the charges against the person. Offenses in this category include murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, robbery, and rape."
http://law.jrank.org/pages/660/Comparative-Criminal-Law-Enfo...

23 Aug 2009 - You can see that there are two classes of crimes listed: indictable and non-indictable offences. The former relate to serious crimes which are dealt with by a judge...
www.open.ac.uk/Arts/history-from.../crmCrimStats.html

You should also put the French term in brackets, so that it is clear that this is what it is about as the two systems are different and you should not imply a simple equivalence.

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Note added at 1 hr (2009-11-03 20:50:15 GMT)
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This is rather an interesting use of the terms "indictable" and "non-indictable" as it deals mainly with the period when the division was into "felonies" and "misdemeanours", very odd:

"Indictable offences known to police, 1857-1974; persons prosecuted for non-indictable offences, 1893-1974; Crime. Assizes and Quarter Sessions. Number of persons brought for trial, 1805-1974; offences classified, 1834-1918; number convicted, 1834-1874; Crime. Courts of summary jurisdiction ..."
www.intute.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search.pl?term1

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Note added at 2 hrs (2009-11-03 21:51:00 GMT)
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Just noticed the spelling in my answer (and in the first reference, which should have had a "sic" after it). It should of course have been "offences", not "offenses".

B D Finch
France
Local time: 12:46
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 126
2 corroborated select projects
in this pair and field

14 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

See explanation

Karen Stokes
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:46
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 32

Grading comment

Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

philgoddard: That's a very helpful explanation. It sounds like Martin Weston is on the right lines, except the distinction between "major offences" and "serious crimes" is a bit blurred.

8 mins

-> Yes, it is a bit - though to be fair to him I've summarised rather a lot!

agree

Isabelle17

1 hr

-> Thanks very much.

agree

cmwilliams: yes, and I agree that the French terms should be included.

3 hrs

-> Thanks - yes, I think that's the way to go with this one.

agree

B D Finch: The England and Wales system is tripartite because of "either-way" offences. Of course there's a problem in trying to map one system onto the other & we agree that the French term ought to be included. Weston's book is going on my shopping list, thanks.

14 hrs

-> Thanks very much.

Reference comments

1 hr

Reference: Youth Crime

Reference information:
If you are 17 or younger and have committed an offence, you are classified as a young offender.
The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales is an executive non-departmental public body with a primary aim of preventing offending by children and young people up to the age of 17. The current peak age of offending is 14, hence early intervention is vital.

Sentences
A wide range of sentences are available to the youth justice system for young offenders, and custody is a last resort. When young people first get into trouble for committing minor offences or for anti-social behaviour, they can be dealt with outside the courts. For anti-social behaviour, the police and local authority can use pre-court orders such as Anti-Social Behaviour Orders or Child Safety Orders. For first or second time minor offences the police can use Reprimands and Final Warnings. Follow the link to Pre-Court Orders on the right for more information.
The objective is to stop offending behaviour and provide support and help early on.

When a young person is charged with an offence they will appear before a Youth Court (a Crown Court is used only in very serious cases). The young offender may receive the following sentences:

Discharge;
Fine;
Reparation Order, for example repairing damage caused to property or cleaning up graffiti;
Community Punishment, for 16-17 year olds. This might involve working with the elderly or conservation work;
Community Rehabilitation, for 16-17 year olds. This might include programmes to address offending behaviour;
Curfew Order, requiring the offender to remain in a specified place for set periods of time;
Drug Treatment and Testing Order, for individuals with drug misuse issues
Referral Orders - given to all young offenders (aged 10-17) pleading guilty and convicted for a first offence. The offender the is referred to a Youth Offender Panel who consider the best course of action.
For other community sentencing options, or further details of the above sentences click on the Youth Sentences link on the right hand side.

Section 90/91
This sentence is given for the most serious offences, such as murder or rape, for which an adult would receive a minimum 14 years in custody. The case is heard in a Crown Court and the entire sentence is spent in custody. The release date for Section 90 offences is determined by the Home Secretary, the release date for Section 91 is set automatically.

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Note added at 1 day22 mins (2009-11-04 19:29:29 GMT)
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could Chris not simply say 'criminal offences' followed by 'less serious offences' ?!

ormiston
France
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 8

Note to reference poster

Asker: This is in fact what I needed. The time when the suspect is held in police custody after arrest. In the end, I used the terms "misdemeanour" and "felony" which Brunswick had suggested in the discussion box. However, your suggestion is very good indeed. Kind regards, Chris.

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English translation: See explanation

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