Page:The Constitutions and Other Select Documents Illustrative of the History of France, 1789-1907, Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged.pdf/308

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278
Constitution of the Year VIII

bunal is performed by the commissioner of the government.

64. Crimes that do not involve afflictive or ignominious punishments are tried by tribunals of correctional police, subject to appeal to the criminal tribunals.

65. There is for the whole Republic a tribunal of cassation, which passes upon the appeals in cassation against the judgments rendered in the last resort by the tribunals, upon applications for the removal from one tribunal to another on account of legitimate suspicion or public security, and upon complaints of prejudice against a whole tribunal.

66. The tribunal of cassation does not take cognizance of the facts of actions; but it quashes the judgments rendered upon proceedings in which the forms have been violated, or which contain some express contravention of the law; and it sends back the facts of the action of the tribunal which ought to have jurisdiction thereon.

67. The judges composing the tribunals of first instance and the commissioners of the government assigned to these tribunals, are taken from the communal list or the departmental list.

The judges constituting the tribunals of appeal and the commissioners placed with them are taken from the departmental list.

The judges composing the tribunal of cassation and the commissioners assigned to that tribunal, are taken from the national list.

68. The judges, other than the justices of the peace, keep their offices for life unless they should be condemned to forfeiture or should not be kept upon the lists of eligibles.

Title VI. Of the Responsibility of the Public Functionaries.

69. The positions of members of the Senate, Legislative Body, Tribunate, and those of the consuls and the councillor of state do not give occasion for any responsibility.

70. Personal crimes involving afflictive or ignominious punishments, committed by a member of the Senate, Tribunate, Legislative Body, or Council of State, are prosecuted before the ordinary tribunals only after a decision of the body to which the accused belongs has authorised that prosecution.