Estimated reading time (in minutes)
Is a handrail useful? Does it serve as evidence in court?
THIS IS NOT A COMPLAINT
Rail support! A daybook is a simple declaration filed in a specific register kept in each police station or gendarmerie. It is established on the sole declaration of the person who presents himself voluntarily. This is a non-contradictory statement because it is established without the police officer who observes it or the person involved in it being able to provide the slightest contradiction. The daybook is different from a complaint because it does not lead to the opening of a police investigation and is not sufficient to allow the prosecution of an author.
OFFICIALIZE A SITUATION
The daybook gives a reality and a certain date to an event which does not necessarily constitute an offense even if it can sometimes be the case for minor offences. For example to signify an abandonment of the spouse’s home or threats. It makes it possible to record a situation or a change of situation at a given moment likely to have consequences in a future civil or criminal trial.
A PREVENTIVE OR ALTERNATIVE ROLE
The handrail can also have a preventive or alternative role. It can be intended to inform the police of a situation close to a crime which did not take place. It thus allows the police services to be ready to intervene. It even happens that the person in question is called to order. It is also an alternative to the denunciation of certain offenses of minor importance for which the filing of a complaint could have disproportionate consequences against the person in question.
CAN IT BE USED AS EVIDENCE?
A handbook can be produced in court as part of a trial. A copy is given only to a lawyer and at his express request. It is therefore very important to keep the references of the daybook, the date and the place where it was made in order to be able to identify it easily because it is deposited every day. A daily manual does not constitute complete legal proof since it is not contradictory but only a beginning of proof. It then makes it possible to demonstrate its good faith but it must imperatively be supplemented by other objective elements of the file.
Société d’Avocats DAMY , Nice, What is a handrail used for? 2022 Update
