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[PARIS, 9 July 2007] - France's justice minister went to parliament last week to defend a contested anti-crime bill that toughens sentencing for repeat offenders, including minors, a key campaign promise of President Nicolas Sarkozy. The bill, which has met with opposition from magistrates and the leftist opposition, specifies that minors older than 16 who are repeat offenders can receive the same sentences as adults. It would establish minimum sentences for repeat offenders. For example, a repeat offender who commits a crime that carries a maximum three-year prison sentence will be ordered to spend at least one year behind bars. Currently, sentences are at the court's discretion. Justice Minister Rachida Dati, who was appointed after Sarkozy came to power in May, told the Senate that the number of convictions for repeat offenses had increased by 70 per cent between 2000 and 2005, and that the number of convictions for acts of violence by minors had risen nearly 40 per cent in the same period. The Conference of Bar Presidents called the bill "contrary to constitutional and international principals, because it deprives minors of the excuse of being underage." The Council of the Order of the Paris Bar said, "The need to prevent repeat offenses ... does not in itself justify a law that goes against the principal fundamentals of our penal rights." Dati defended the measures at the Senate, saying, "This bill is firm but just, and it preserves fairness. It does not merit the excessive protests it has generated." Further information
pdf: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/05/europe/EU-GEN-France-Repeat-Of...