Read how the judges justified their verdict

A very detailed document explaining the rationale for the criminal court’s decision in the Pelicot rape case. Delivered in the southern city of Avignon on Thursday, December 19offers an in-depth look at the jurors’ deliberations over three days. For this reason, it is a must read. This legitimizes more than ever the obligation of criminal courts under French law to provide reasons for their decisions. This obligation is a new one: it was introduced by a law enacted on 10 August 2011, following the decision of the European Court of Human Rights that failure to provide reasons undermines the requirements of a fair trial.

A lengthy introduction titled “The common basis of the case and the particular case of Dominique Pelicot” explains how the judges arrived at their decision to convict all the defendants. It also shows how they became convinced of the central role played by Dominique Pelicot; It justifies the five-year difference between the maximum sentence given to him, which was 20 years in prison, and the fact that he will not be eligible for parole until he has served two-thirds of the sentence. The full sentence and other sentences, which were much lighter than the prosecution’s demands, were given to the other defendants.

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