Code Henry

The sequestrators established to guard the seized movable effects and the fruits of the immovable property shall be subject to all the obligations and formalities prescribed for judicial sequestrators, which shall be common to them and observed in all respects.

If the accused is domiciled or resides in the place where the court sits, he shall be summoned there to appear within fifteen days, in the manner prescribed by article 306; but otherwise, the summons shall be posted at the courthouse door, and the posting shall serve as notification.

Failing to appear within the fifteen days, he shall be summoned, by a single public proclamation, to appear within eight days; the day of the summons and the day of the deadline shall not be counted in the time limits.

The fifteen-day and eight-day summonses, in cases of default, shall be given without the need to pronounce a judgment.

The public proclamation shall be made by drum roll, the first Sunday following, at the public square, at the courthouse door, and in front of the accused's house, if he resides in the city where the seneschal court sits.

After the citation deadlines have expired, the proceedings shall be delivered to the king's prosecutor, to take his conclusions.

The citations shall serve in place of interrogations with respect to the defaulting accused.

If the proceedings have been validly conducted, the judges shall order that the witnesses be restated in their depositions, and that the restatement shall serve as confrontation with respect to the defaulting accused.

After the restatement, the case shall again be communicated to the king's prosecutor, to take such conclusions as he deems appropriate.

If there are accused present and accused absent, the case may only be judged after the default proceedings have been completed against the absent ones.

The same judgment shall declare the default proceedings properly conducted, award the benefit thereof, and contain the condemnation or acquittal of the accused.

All default convictions shall be posted at the courthouse door, at the principal public squares, notified, and a copy left at the convicted person's domicile, if he has one in the jurisdiction.

An official report of the execution of the judgment shall be drawn up at the bottom of the judgment, signed by the clerk only.

If the accused has been acquitted by default, he may not be arrested or tried again for the same charge, unless the public prosecution has appealed a minima against the sentence rendered in his favor.

If the convicted defaulter is arrested after the judgment, within five years from the date of execution of said judgment, or if within the same period he surrenders at the ban du roi of the jurisdiction that convicted him, the default proceedings conducted against him shall be automatically annulled, without his needing to obtain a judgment, or to appeal the default sentence.

The accused's presence at the ban du roi shall be established by a copy of the prison entry made of his person, served upon the clerk of the seneschal court that convicted him; within twenty-four hours, the clerk shall notify the judges.

The costs of the default proceedings shall be assessed by the judge, and paid by the accused.

In the event the accused cannot pay the costs of the default proceedings, there shall be no stay of the investigation and judgment of the case.

There shall be proceeded, with the shortest delay, to the interrogation of the accused and the confrontation of witnesses, even though during the default proceedings, it was ordered that the restatement would serve as confrontation.

The deposition of a witness who died before the restatement shall be rejected, and shall not be read, unless the witness testified for the discharge of the accused; in that case, his deposition shall be read, and shall constitute proof in his favor.