On the practice of obligatory confrontation in court proceedings in cases of rape and sexual assault in France 

The petitioner claims that France has failed to comply with Article 19 of Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA, with regard to the right to avoid contact between the victim and the offender during criminal proceedings. The petitioner says that French law does not take the aforementioned Article into account and that judges and public prosecutors have the discretionary power to order a confrontation between the victim and the offender in order to establish the truth. The petitioner considers that there are no reasonable grounds for ordering such a confrontation and yet failure to hold it may prevent criminal proceedings against the offender from going ahead.