Briefly Criminal – The Limitation Period for Criminal Prosecution
Summary of the facts
On 16 January 2026, the Full Court of the French Court of Cassation delivered a judgment that caused considerable public reaction (No. 25-80.258).
22 May 1986
Marie-Thérèse Bonfanti disappeared. A judicial investigation was immediately opened.
2 May 2022
Thirty-six years later, a man confessed to having strangled the young woman on the very day of her disappearance. After being formally placed under investigation, he sought to have the proceedings terminated on the ground that the limitation period for criminal prosecution had expired.
28 November 2023
The decision of the Grenoble Court of Appeal was quashed.
16 January 2026
The criminal prosecution was declared time-barred.
Initially, the Investigation Chamber of the Grenoble Court of Appeal had rejected the argument based on the expiry of the limitation period, holding that the concealment of the body, the absence of a crime scene and the victim’s “unremarkable personal background” could constitute “a factual obstacle to the exercise of criminal proceedings for intentional homicide”, capable of suspending the limitation period.
Accordingly, the limitation period would not have started running on the date of the murder, but only on the date of the suspect’s confession.
A first judgment of the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation dated 28 November 2023 (No. 23-80.599) quashed that decision.
The case was then referred to the Investigation Chamber of the Lyon Court of Appeal, which again refused to find that the prosecution was time-barred. That decision led to a further appeal before the Court of Cassation, resulting in the Full Court judgment of 16 January 2026.
The judgment of 16 January 2026 held that the criminal prosecution was time-barred.
Consequently, despite his confession, the suspect will not be tried before a criminal court sitting with a jury.
But what exactly is a limitation period?
How does it work under Luxembourg law?
What is a limitation period, and why does it exist?
What is the limitation period for criminal prosecution?
It is the statutory period beyond which criminal proceedings can no longer be brought in respect of an offence, thereby extinguishing the Public Prosecutor’s right to prosecute the offender.
Why do limitation periods exist?
Several reasons are commonly put forward:
- The right to be forgotten and social reintegration
- Evidential difficulties
- Encouraging prosecuting authorities to act diligently
- Legal certainty
- Social peace
The right to be forgotten and social reintegration: over time, the alleged offender may have changed their behaviour and reintegrated into society. In such circumstances, prosecution may conflict with the rehabilitative objective pursued by criminal law.
Evidential difficulties: the passage of time affects evidence, including the disappearance of evidence, the death of witnesses or the deterioration or loss of their memories. There is therefore a significant risk that a delayed trial may result in a miscarriage of justice.
Encouraging prosecuting authorities to act diligently: limitation rules penalise prolonged inaction by the prosecuting authorities and encourage them to act with due diligence.
Legal certainty: limitation periods contribute to the stability and predictability of the law. No one should remain indefinitely exposed to the threat of criminal prosecution.
Social peace: over time, the disturbance caused to society by the offence diminishes. A late punishment may therefore appear unnecessary, or even contrary to social peace, insofar as it inevitably revives a disturbance that had subsided.
Do limitation periods apply to all offences?
No. The Code of Criminal Procedure provides that certain offences are not subject to any limitation period because of their seriousness.
These include:
- Rape of a minor under the age of 16
- Genocide
- War crimes
- Crimes of aggression, namely acts which, by their nature, gravity and scale, constitute a manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations
After how long does criminal prosecution become time-barred?
General rule:
- Crimes: 10 years
- Misdemeanours: 5 years
- Petty offences: 1 year
Exceptions:
30 years for sexual offences committed against minors under the age of 16 and for sexual offences committed against a minor by an ascendant.
Starting point of the limitation period: 10 years, 5 years, 1 year… but from when?
The limitation period for criminal prosecution only begins to run once the offence has been completed.
How do we know when an offence is “completed”? When all of the constituent elements required by law are present.
The starting point therefore depends on the nature of the offence.
Instantaneous offence: all constituent elements of the offence occur through a single act at a specific point in time, meaning that the offence is completed immediately and does not continue over time.
Example: theft of a mobile phone. In this case, the limitation period starts running at the moment the phone is fraudulently taken.
Collective offence: several acts, each constituting an offence in itself, may nevertheless form part of a single criminal activity because they are linked by a common design and purpose.
In the case of a collective offence, the limitation period for all of the acts only starts to run from the date of the last act, provided that the limitation period has not already expired between any of the individual acts, without however subjecting all of the acts to a single limitation period (Court of Appeal, 10 August 2021, No. 714/21).
Example: an employee commits several thefts to the detriment of their employer. The limitation period starts running from the date of the last theft.
Continuing offence: an offence whose commission results from an act that continues over time.
Example: unlawful detention. In this case, the offence is completed when the victim is released. The limitation period therefore begins to run when the offence ceases.
Naturally, these rules are subject to certain exceptions.
Exceptions provided by law: for example, in the case of a sexual offence committed against a minor, the law provides that the limitation period only starts running once the victim reaches the age of majority.
Exceptions developed by case law: case law postpones the starting point of the limitation period in cases involving concealed or clandestine offences.
A concealed offence is an offence whose clandestine nature is either a constituent element or inherent to the offence itself, meaning that the offence cannot realistically be committed other than in secrecy.
Example: misuse of corporate assets.
In such cases, the limitation period begins on the date on which the offence became apparent and could be established under circumstances allowing criminal proceedings to be brought (Court of Appeal, judgment No. 11/20 X of 15 January 2020).
Interruption and suspension of the limitation period
“I committed a misdemeanour in 2012. It is now 2026, so I am safe: the limitation period has expired.”
It is not that simple.
First, there is the issue of when the limitation period started running, as explained above, and then the possibility that it may have been suspended or interrupted.
Indeed, the limitation period may be suspended or interrupted, meaning that an offence committed in 2012 may still be prosecutable in 2026.
Suspension
Suspension is the temporary stopping of the limitation period.
The limitation period for criminal prosecution is suspended whenever a legal or factual obstacle prevents proceedings from being brought (Court of Cassation, judgment No. 15/2009 of 5 March 2009).
The limitation period is paused and resumes from the point at which it stopped once the obstacle has disappeared.
The obstacle must be insurmountable and objectively prevent any legal action.
For example, where, following a quashing decision with referral, no court is validly seized of the criminal proceedings, the limitation period is suspended for the entire duration of that legal impediment (Court of Cassation, judgment No. 15/2009 of 5 March 2009).
Suppose the offence concerned is a theft committed two years before the event giving rise to the suspension of the criminal proceedings.
The limitation period is suspended for the duration of the obstacle and then resumes from where it stopped. The two years already elapsed remain counted, leaving three years before the prosecution becomes time-barred.
Interruption
Interruption is the mechanism whereby a valid act of prosecution or investigation brings the limitation period currently running to an end and causes a new full limitation period of the same duration to begin from the date of that act.
Interruption resets the clock to zero.
Acts of prosecution or investigation are acts intended to establish offences, identify their perpetrators or obtain evidence against them.
For example, a theft is committed on 15 March 2025. The limitation period begins to run for five years.
A criminal complaint with an application to join the proceedings as a civil party is filed with the investigating judge on 2 January 2026.
That complaint is considered an act of prosecution or investigation. As a result, the five-year limitation period begins to run again from that date and will be reset each time a further act of prosecution or investigation is carried out.
➡️ For any questions relating to criminal law, please contact Fanny Gilliers and Bastien Desjardins.