Appealing a detention order: 24 hours before the First President of the Court of Appeal (2026)
A reasoned notice of appeal, no suspensive effect, decision within 48 hours
Bordeaux Court of Appeal
The order keeping a person in immigration detention may be appealed against before the First President of the Court of Appeal, within twenty-four hours. That time runs from the moment the order is delivered, nights and weekends included, and cannot be extended. This page sets out who may appeal, in what form, and what the court decides. No outcome can be guaranteed.
Who may appeal, and within what time
Article L. 743-21 of the CESEDA opens an appeal against orders made in detention matters before the First President of the Court of Appeal or his delegate. Three parties may appeal: the foreign national himself, the administrative authority — in practice the prefect — and the public prosecutor. The First President is seised without formality and rules within forty-eight hours of being seised.
The time limit is twenty-four hours from the delivery of the order (Article R. 743-10). Where the person was not present at the hearing, it runs from notification. It is counted in hours, not in working days.
In Bordeaux, the appeal is brought before the Bordeaux Court of Appeal, which has jurisdiction over orders made by the judicial court of Bordeaux, including where the first-instance hearing was held in an off-site courtroom or by videoconference.
Time limit to appeal
24 hours
From the delivery of the order, or from its notification where the person was absent (CESEDA, Articles L. 743-21 and R. 743-10)
The court's decision
48 hours from the moment the First President or his delegate is seised.
The form of the appeal: a reasoned notice
Article R. 743-11 of the CESEDA
The appeal is brought by a notice of appeal sent to the registry of the Court of Appeal, which records it with its date and time. The mention of the time is not a formality: it is what establishes that the twenty-four-hour limit has been met.
Article R. 743-11 of the CESEDA requires that notice to state reasons, failing which it is inadmissible: the grounds must appear in it. A notice that merely records disagreement with the decision exposes the appellant to rejection, since Article L. 743-23 allows the First President to dismiss without a hearing notices that are manifestly inadmissible, out of time or unreasoned.
The appeal is therefore drafted in the hours following the hearing, with the order in hand, and then completed by written submissions before the hearing in the Court of Appeal.
The appeal has no suspensive effect — unless the prosecutor asks for it
Article L. 743-22 of the CESEDA
The principle laid down by Article L. 743-22 of the CESEDA is that the appeal has no suspensive effect. An order ending detention therefore takes effect immediately, even if the prefect or the prosecutor appeals against it: the person leaves the centre, and the court rules afterwards.
That principle has qualifications. The public prosecutor may ask the First President to declare his appeal suspensive where it appears that the person does not have effective guarantees that he will remain available, or where there is a serious threat to public order. That request must appear in the appeal and state reasons; the First President rules without delay, by a reasoned order made after an inter partes hearing, against which there is no remedy. The person then remains at the disposal of the court until that decision and, if suspensive effect is granted, until the substance is decided.
By way of exception, the same article makes the appeal suspensive as of right against a decision ending detention where the person has been sentenced to a ban from French territory for acts of terrorism or is the subject of a removal measure ordered because of conduct linked to terrorist activities.
Release is never instantaneous.
Even where the order ends detention and no suspensive effect is sought, Article L. 743-19 of the CESEDA provides that the decision is immediately notified to the public prosecutor and that the person remains at the disposal of the court for ten hours from that notification, unless the prosecutor decides otherwise. That period was twenty-four hours before the Act of 27 July 2026. This wait must be allowed for before arranging a journey or telling the family a time of release.
What can be argued before the court
Grounds, new documents and limits
The First President rules afresh on detention: he does not merely review the reasoning of the first judge, he assesses the situation as at the date on which he rules.
The grounds must appear in the notice of appeal
The grounds on which the order is to be set aside must be set out in the notice (Article R. 743-11). What was not written there within twenty-four hours is difficult to argue afterwards.
New documents have their place
The appeal is decided on the facts as much as on the law. A passport that has been found, a signed accommodation statement, a medical certificate or an employment contract obtained after the hearing may be produced before the court: they serve to show effective guarantees that the person will remain available and to request house arrest.
Earlier irregularities remain time-barred
The appeal does not reopen what the law has closed. Article L. 743-11 of the CESEDA makes inadmissible, of the court's own motion, any irregularity predating a hearing at the end of which the judge has already extended the measure. And Article L. 743-12 recalls that release may be ordered only if the irregularity substantially affected the person's rights: the prejudice must be shown, not merely the defect.
Dismissal without a hearing
Article L. 743-23 of the CESEDA
Article L. 743-23 of the CESEDA allows the First President, or his delegate, to dismiss by reasoned order, without first summoning the parties, notices of appeal that are manifestly inadmissible. This covers in particular notices that are out of time and those that state no reasons.
The same article allows, for appeals against decisions made in the cases covered by Articles L. 741-10 and L. 742-8, dismissal of the notice without summoning the parties where no new circumstance of fact or of law has arisen since the placement or its renewal, or where the material produced manifestly does not justify ending detention.
An appeal that repeats the first-instance hearing rarely succeeds. The notice must say what has changed since: a document, a fact, a failure by the administration.
After the First President's order
Appeal on a point of law, later hearings, appeal against the removal order
The First President's order may be the subject of an appeal on a point of law before the Court of Cassation. That appeal has no suspensive effect: detention continues to be decided before the judge of the judicial court at each deadline.
If detention is confirmed, the next deadline is the extension hearing: twenty-six days, then thirty days. The debate will then turn on the steps taken by the administration and on the prospect of removal.
The removal measure falls to another judge. The judicial judge cannot annul the removal order, the country of return or the ban on returning: those are challenged before the administrative court, within forty-eight hours where the decision is notified to a person placed in detention (CESEDA, Articles L. 614-2 and R. 921-2-1) — five days for a rejected asylum seeker, seven days for a Dublin transfer decision or for a person under house arrest. See the removal order in detention and our page on the appeal against an OQTF.
What the firm does
The firm reads the order and fixes the starting point of the twenty-four hours. It drafts the reasoned notice of appeal and sends it to the registry of the Bordeaux Court of Appeal. It gathers the useful new documents: passport, accommodation, medical material, employment contract. It argues the case before the First President, then reports to the family. Maître Gabriel Lassort, a member of the Bordeaux Bar since 2018 and of the Bar's Institut de défense des étrangers, appears before the judicial court, the Court of Appeal and the administrative court of Bordeaux. No outcome can be guaranteed.
Fees for an appeal
A one-page quote by e-mail or text message within the hour
| Service | Fee | What is included |
|---|---|---|
| Appeal, for a client already defended at first instance | 300 € incl. VAT (250 € excl. VAT) | Reasoned notice of appeal within 24 hours, submissions, hearing before the First President |
| Appeal taken on from scratch (file not previously known to the firm) | 600 € incl. VAT (500 € excl. VAT) | Taking over the file, reasoned notice, new documents, hearing |
| Prepaid "detention defence" package | 840 € incl. VAT (700 € excl. VAT) | First hearing before the judge and any appeal |
| Appeal against the removal order (48 hours in detention, administrative court) | Legal aid | Where the conditions are met; a supplementary fee applies where legal aid is partial |
Same price at weekends and on public holidays. The family pays remotely, by payment link or bank transfer, before the hearing.
Legal references
- CESEDA, Article L. 743-21 — appeal before the First President of the Court of Appeal, decision within forty-eight hours.
- CESEDA, Article L. 743-22 — appeal without suspensive effect, request for suspensive effect by the public prosecutor, exception in terrorism matters.
- CESEDA, Article L. 743-23 — dismissal without a hearing of manifestly inadmissible notices of appeal.
- CESEDA, Article L. 743-19 — the person remains at the disposal of the court for ten hours after a decision ordering release.
- CESEDA, Article L. 743-11 — inadmissibility of irregularities predating an earlier extension.
- CESEDA, Article L. 743-12 — release only where rights have been substantially affected.
- CESEDA, Article L. 743-13 — house arrest, handing over of the original passport.
- CESEDA, Articles R. 743-10 to R. 743-19 — twenty-four-hour time limit, notice of appeal reasoned on pain of inadmissibility, suspensive effect, hearing and decision.
- CESEDA, Article L. 742-4 — further extensions of thirty days.
- CESEDA, Article R. 921-2-1 — appeal against a removal order notified in detention: forty-eight hours from notification (Decree no. 2026-456 of 6 June 2026).
- CESEDA, Title IV — immigration detention (Articles L. 740-1 to L. 744-17) — full regime.
Frequently asked questions about appealing a detention order
The questions we are asked most often
What is the time limit to appeal against an order of the liberty and custody judge?
Twenty-four hours from the delivery of the order, or from its notification where the person was not present at the hearing (CESEDA, Articles L. 743-21 and R. 743-10). That time is counted in hours and includes nights, weekends and public holidays. It cannot be extended.
Who may appeal?
Three parties: the detained foreign national, the administrative authority, that is to say the prefect, and the public prosecutor. The appeal is brought before the First President of the Court of Appeal or his delegate — in Bordeaux for orders of the judicial court of Bordeaux.
Must the notice of appeal state reasons?
Yes, on pain of inadmissibility (Article R. 743-11 of the CESEDA). It is not enough to state that an appeal is being brought: the grounds must appear in the notice. Article L. 743-23 allows the First President to dismiss, without summoning the parties, notices that are manifestly inadmissible, in particular those that are out of time or state no reasons.
How quickly does the Court of Appeal rule?
The First President or his delegate is seised without formality and rules within forty-eight hours of being seised (Article L. 743-21 of the CESEDA).
Does an appeal by the prefect prevent release from the detention centre?
In principle no: the appeal has no suspensive effect (Article L. 743-22 of the CESEDA). The public prosecutor may, however, ask the First President to declare the appeal suspensive where the person does not have effective guarantees that he will remain available or where there is a serious threat to public order. By way of exception, the appeal is suspensive as of right in certain situations linked to terrorism.
When does the person actually leave after a decision ordering release?
Not immediately. The order is notified to the public prosecutor and the person remains at the disposal of the court for ten hours from that notification, unless the prosecutor decides otherwise (Article L. 743-19 of the CESEDA). That period was twenty-four hours before the Act of 27 July 2026.
Can new documents be produced before the Court of Appeal?
The First President assesses the situation as at the date on which he rules: a passport that has been found, an accommodation statement, a medical certificate or an employment contract obtained after the first hearing may usefully be produced. On the other hand, irregularities predating a hearing that has already extended the measure remain inadmissible (Article L. 743-11 of the CESEDA). No outcome can be guaranteed.
How much does an appeal before the First President cost?
Two hundred and fifty euros excluding VAT, that is 300 euros including VAT, for a client already defended at first instance by the firm. A file taken on from scratch is charged at 500 euros excluding VAT. A prepaid package of 700 euros excluding VAT, that is 840 euros including VAT, covers the first hearing and any appeal.
Appealing a detention order
The time limit is twenty-four hours from the delivery of the order.