VSIt will soon be three years since Cédric Jubillar has been incarcerated at the Seysses remand center (Haute-Garonne). On June 16, 2021, six months after the disappearance of his wife Delphine, the gendarmes from the Toulouse research section came to pick up Cédric Jubillar from a construction site in Albi (Tarn), where he had recently been working. Two days later, he was indicted for “murder of a spouse” – a crime punishable by life imprisonment – and placed in pre-trial detention. All requests for release of Cédric Jubillar filed by his lawyers, Mare Alary, Martin and Franck, have so far been rejected, even though they are presumed innocent.
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How long can Cédric Jubillar stay in detention?
In criminal matters, the person charged cannot normally be kept behind bars for more than one year. However, article 145-2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that the judge of freedoms and detention (JLD) may, at the expiration of this period, extend the detention for a period of six months, a decision which must be rendered after an adversarial debate and by a reasoned order.
In cases where the sentence incurred is more than twenty years’ imprisonment – this is the case of Cédric Jubillar – pre-trial detention can be extended up to three, or even four years in certain specific cases (when several crimes are committed, for example rape and acts of barbarity, in matters of terrorism, etc.). Pre-trial detention is then renewable every six months, each renewal being the subject of a contradictory debate before the JLD.
At the end of a year of detention, on June 13, 2022, Cédric Jubillar was therefore presented for the first time to the JLD, which decided on his continued detention, a decision confirmed six months later and renewed every six months since.
Can Cédric Jubillar remain in detention after the 3 year period?
On November 21, 2023, in accordance with the requisitions of the Toulouse public prosecutor’s office made on November 3, investigating judges Audrey Assémat and Coralyne Chartier decided to refer Cédric Jubillar to the Tarn Assize Court. Almost three years after the disappearance of Delphine Jubillar, the investigating judges considered that there were sufficient charges against her husband Cédric, accused of having voluntarily killed his wife on the night of December 15 to 16, 2020 .
From November 2023, Cédric Jubillar is therefore the subject of a new “type” of committal warrant which allows him to be kept in detention until his appearance before the Tarn Assize Court. “If the accused is placed in pre-trial detention, the committal warrant issued against him retains its enforceability and the person concerned remains detained until his judgment by the Assize Court”, is it written in the Code of Procedure criminal.
From the moment the indictment order is issued, the accused must normally appear after one year. If this deadline is not respected, there may be automatic release, unless the public prosecutor requests the exceptional extension of pre-trial detention for a period of six months. In this case, there is a debate before the investigating chamber. This deadline may be extended for a further period of six months. Thus, the committal warrant before appearance before an assize court can be extended to a maximum of two years.
Will Cédric Jubillar soon be tried in court?
At the beginning of 2024, the public prosecutor of Toulouse requested the opening of additional information in the Jubillar file. After a hearing before the investigating chamber of the Toulouse Court of Appeal, this supplement was ordered, rendering the indictment order null and void. At the end of their new investigations, the investigating judges will have to issue a judgment of indictment. Until then, Cédric Jubillar is “back” under the classic regime of pre-trial detention in criminal matters.
Article 145-2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure further provides that “exceptionally”, “when the investigating judge’s investigations must be continued and the release of the person under investigation would cause harm to the security of the persons and property a particularly serious risk, the investigating chamber may extend the periods provided for in this article for a period of four months”, a decision renewable once. In other words, Cédric Jubillar may still be subject to pre-trial detention for eight months after the three-year period.
On the other hand, the law does not set any deadline for making a decision after the execution of additional information. The applicable time limit is therefore known in legal matters as “reasonable”. The trial can only be heard once the indictment judgment has been made final. After that, the committal mandate can last one year, renewable twice for six months.
