Overview of the French Customs Infringements and Sanctions and the Question of Possible Harmonization

Abstract

The European Commission’s proposed Directive of 13 December 2013 (Proposal for a directive of the EU Parliament and of the Council on the Union legal framework for customs infringements and sanctions, dated 13 December 2013) sets a framework to harmonize customs infringements and related sanctions. This has reopened the debate over harmonization of sanctions relating to infringements of the Union’s customs rules and sheds light upon the diversity of the law enforcement systems of each of the EU Member States’ customs services. In France, for instance, the system in place is based on specific criminal law rules. It is necessary to better understand the national legal environment and its peculiarities in order to grasp the stakes and the obstacles that delay a rapid implementation of a harmonized regime. With this in mind, we shall cover the principles that govern the French criminal law relating to customs, together with a practical overview of procedural rules in customs matters. This study will aid comprehension of the ongoing harmonization work as well as measuring how far we are from achieving it.