Decision of the Court of Conflicts Regarding the Concurrence of Criminal and Tax Proceedings
On December 2, the Court of Jurisdictional Conflicts issued a ruling regarding the concurrent pursuit of criminal and tax proceedings.
A taxpayer who had been deemed by the tax court to have his tax residence in France was subsequently acquitted by the criminal court, which, on the contrary, had found that he did not have his tax residence in France.
The taxpayer then brought the matter before the Tribunal des conflits, arguing that the Tribunal has jurisdiction, in accordance with the Law of May 24, 1872, when "final decisions rendered by administrative and judicial courts in proceedings brought before both types of courts, concerning disputes over the same subject matter, [...] present a contradiction leading to a denial of justice".
The Court of Jurisdictional Conflicts therefore held that "the decisions rendered by the courts of both levels, even though they addressed the same issue, did not concern the same subject matter."
Under these circumstances, it therefore seems preferable to draw upon other legal sources, in particular the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.