ABSTRACT
The French justice system has been accused of being riddled with problems for decades, problems that have led to serious miscarriages of justice. The French system is a form of compromise between the adversarial and the inquisitorial judicial systems. The adversarial system dates from antiquity, lasting in France until the High Middle Ages. In lawsuits, the accuser began proceedings; he could be the victim, a relation of the victim or any other person connected to the crime. Retrials occur when a decided case is reopened. Such trials already existed under the French monarchy prior to the Revolution. Some miscarriages of justice are due to problems embedded in the system. Being run by men and women, the justice system is necessarily fallible. It can be influenced by external and internal factors. In the French criminal justice system, major crimes (crimes) are tried by criminal courts comprising professional judges and jurors.
