provided for in misdemeanour cases. They shall be tried by the court of Assizes without assessors. If they prepare their defence or are arrested before the prescription period expires, the sentence shall quashed as of right and a new trial shall take place according to standard formalities. ART 370: Only the attorney general and the party claiming damages in their respective interests sha ll have the right to appeal on points of law against absentia rulings handed down by the court of assizes. ART 371: In the cases provided for in the last sub paragraph of article369, should for any reason whatsoever, witnesses be absent during proceedings, written testimonies and written responses from the other accused persons shall, for the same act, be read at the hearing; the same shall apply to other documents that the president will consider likely to enlighten the court. ART 372: A convict who, after being represented, has his/her charges dropped, may be exempted by the court from paying the costs brought about by the sentence formerly handed down against him/her. PART VII MISDEMEANOUR COURTS CHAPTER ONE - COMPETENCE OF AND REFERRAL TO THE MISDEMEANOUR- COURT Section 1 General Provisions ART 373: The misdemeanour court shall be competent to hear, without prejudice to the special provisions relating to the trial of criminal offences committed by minors, all misdemeanours whose sentence is higher than ten days of imprisonment and a fine of 18,000.francs. ART 374: The competent misdemeanour court shall be the one found in the place where the offence was committed, the place of residence of the accused or of the place where the latter was arrested, even when this arrest was carried for a different reason. The misdemeanour court shall be competent to hear misdemeanours and simple offences, which alongside the offence referred to the court, make up an indivisible whole. Its competence may also extend to related misdemeanours and simple offences. ART 375 Competence regarding an accused shall extend to all co-perpetrators and accomplices unless special provisions exist. ART 376: The court where criminal proceedings are filed shall be comp etent to rule on all motions brought by the accused in his/her defence, unless the law states otherwise. ART 377: On pain of being time barred, motions based on the nullity, either of the summons or the former procedure, shall be presented before any defence as to the merits. A summons shall be considered null and void only when it harms the interests of the persons it relates to, notably when summons time limits are not respected. ART 378: Preliminary motions shall be presented before any defence as to the merits. They shall be admissible only if they are likely to make the act on which the proceeding is based no longer an offence. They shall be admissible only if they are based on acts or headings that make the accused person's claim grounded. If the motion is admissible, the court shall grant a period during which the accused person should seize the competent court. This motion shall be disregarded if the accused persons files to open proceedings within this period and fails to justify the actions he/ she has taken. 59