testimonies are uncommon. The ministère public, an independent judicial official, sometimes plays an advisory role in civil proceedings. In principle, the first level of appellate court reviews questions of both fact and law, and it is able to do so because of the dossier. It can also order additional investigations and production of evidence. The Court of Cassation (highest civil appellate court) generally only decides questions of law and remands the case for further proceedings. Criminal law French criminal law is governed first and foremost by the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Criminal Code, for example, prohibits violent offenses such as homicide, assault and many pecuniary offenses such as theft or money laundering, and provides general sentencing guidelines. However, a number of criminal offenses, e.g., slander and libel, have not been codified but are instead addressed by separate statutes. Criminal procedure After a crime occurs, the police make initial investigations. The prosecutor (procureur) or, in some serious cases, the juge d’instruction then control or supervise the police investigation and decide whether to prosecute. Unlike common law countries and many civil law countries, French prosecutors are members of the judicial branch. Issuing arrest warrants or formally questioning the accused or witnesses must receive judicial approval, but decisions on searches and phone-tapping are often delegated to the police because of limited judicial resources. There are also simplified procedures for crimes in flagrante delicto and crimes relating to terrorism and drugs. Other judges then preside at the criminal trial, typically without a jury. However, the most serious cases tried by the cour d’assises (a branch of the Court of Appeal) involve three judges and nine jurors who jointly determine the verdict and sentencing. Like civil proceedings, criminal proceedings focus on written evidence and written argument, although witnesses are usually also heard orally. Judges or prosecutors order independent experts for the proceeding, if necessary. One appeal can be made on questions of fact and law, save for decisions of the cour d’assises. Appeals may also be made to the Court of Cassation on questions of law. Other judges (the juge de l’application des peines) supervise the sentence and deal with parole. Public law Public law is concerned with the powers and organization of the state and governmental bodies. Constitutional law French constitutional law includes not only the Constitution itself, but also its preamble which incorporates a list of norms known