Environmental inspectors assigned to the National Office for Hunting and Wildlife (Office national de la Chasse et de la Fauna Sauvage, now the French Office for Biodiversity) may, without the consent of its occupant, have the trunk of a vehicle opened which is not for professional use and which does not constitute a residence. This is what the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation just recalled in a ruling of January 5, 2021.
The vehicle of a hunter caught poaching at night is controlled by agents of the ONCFS. They see a loaded rifle in the trunk of his car outside his case. The correctional court convicts the hunter for unauthorized hunting in a night meeting with the use of a vehicle and carrying a weapon. The Court of Appeal upheld this decision, which led the convicted hunter to appeal on cassation.
The Court of Cassation dismisses the appeal. The search of a vehicle which is not a home and which is not used for professional purposes does not require the prior authorization of the public prosecutor. Environmental inspectors have powers of judicial police: they do not have to call on a judicial police officer to carry it out properly.
