On police investigation and provisional criminal instruction

Abstract

The article examines the distinction between police investigation and provisional criminal instruction, starting from the classification of the Law of 3 Brumaire and the ambiguity between article 4 of the Criminal Procedure Code and article 144, paragraph 4, of the 1988 Federal Constitution. The exposition argues that the judicial police consists of provisional criminal instruction, aimed at forming the opinio delicti, while the ascertainment of criminal offenses implies police investigation, an activity of elucidating the crime, its authorship, and materiality. The text analyzes police practice, distinguishing intra-inquiry and extra-inquiry investigations, and draws on the examining magistrate and the British Police. The conclusion states that the functions are unmistakable.