Parquet (legal)

The parquet is, in some countries, including France, the prosecution service. The "parquet général" is the prosecution service of a "cour d'appel" or the "Cour de Cassation".

The word literally means "wooden floor"; this is because, as opposed to the judges, who sit on an elevated platform during trials, the prosecution pleads standing on the floor.This also explains why the judges are sometimes referred to as "sitting magistrates" ("magistrature assise") or "magistrates of the Seat" ("magistrats du siège") while the prosecutors are sometimes referred to as "standing magistrates" ("magistrature debout").

In Romania, the prosecution office is also called "parchet" (IPA2|par'ket).

In Dutch, the "parquet" is translated as the "parket".