In France, the magistrate decides whether or not a case should be pursued, meaning Total may yet appear in court, although the prosecutor's office can appeal such a decision.
She tells the court she is a single mother on benefits and the magistrate decides to reduce the court costs from £120 to £50; she also has to pay a £36 fine, reduced by a third in recognition of her guilty plea, and a £20 victim surcharge (which goes to paying for victim support groups).
As a result of this report the magistrates decided not to allow parish apprentices to be indentured to cotton mills where they worked at night or more than ten hours in the day.
The magistrates decide what level of fine to hand down, according to what's known about their finances, and the nature of the offence.
After an 11-year inquiry, following complaints from four French former Scientologists, an independent, investigating magistrate decided that the prosecution should go ahead.
Xavière Simeoni, an investigating magistrate, decided to send Mr Chirac to court against the advice of the public prosecutor, himself appointed by Mr Chirac.
They recently took her to court, where a magistrate decided that she was violating local laws by not being hooked up to an approved water supply and gave her a month to comply.
He could still face arrest by the Italian authorities if a magistrate decides after an investigation that he has broken the country's strict anti-doping laws.
