La Nuit du Droit 2024

Every year since 2018, the Constitutional Council has been organizing the Nuit du Droit (Night of Law) nationwide. Usually, this event takes place on October 4, the anniversary of the Constitution of the V^e Republic. The aim is to introduce French people to the world of law and the workings of the Justice system.

This year once again, the Faculty of Law and Public Administration of the Institut Sociétés et Humanités has joined forces with the Judicial Court, the Valenciennes Bar and the Gendarmerie Nationale to take part in this event and introduce the world of justice to the people of Valenciennes. The theme chosen for 2024 was Behind the Scenes of a Criminal Trial, to introduce the public to the different stages of criminal proceedings, their objectives and what is said or done during them.

The public was therefore invited to the judicial court to witness various criminal scenes. First, they took part in the examination of a crime scene in the courtyard of the judicial court: fingerprinting, DNA sampling or even the imaging of the crime scene by gendarmes criminal identification technicians.

The public was invited to the judicial court to witness various criminal scenes.

Then, having identified the suspect, the public was able to attend his police custody. Questioned by gendarmes from the Research Brigade, the suspect confessed. The public was able to understand how police custody works, the rights of the person in custody and the work of the investigators.

At the end of police custody, the defendant was brought before the public prosecutor, who ordered his immediate appearance before the court's correctional chamber for trial. However, the victim is not forgotten in these proceedings, and the audience was able to attend a meeting between the victim and a victim support association. The aim of this interview is to support the victim, remind him of his rights and help him with the necessary steps.

Finally, it was time for the hearing: the defendant was brought before the criminal court. The public was then able to attend the proceedings before the court: the interrogation of the defendant, the victim's testimony, his lawyer's plea followed by the prosecution's indictment and, finally, the plea of the defendant's lawyer. The seriousness of the facts and the defendant's attitude in court certainly led the court to be more severe than the prosecution had requested: the defendant was found guilty and sentenced to a firm prison term.

At all these stages, the many spectators were able to ask questions and exchange views with the legal professionals. At the end of this Nuit du Droit, the spectators were delighted and, no doubt, vocations were born among the many high school and university students who came to attend this event.

Lawyer's Night

Success was so great that it has already been agreed to take part in Nuit du Droit 2025 in a format that will accommodate more people.