ART 12: A civil proceeding may not be initiated before the criminal court after the expiry of the prescription period for criminal proceedings. When a final decision has been taken on the criminal proceeding and if a criminal conviction has been passed, the civil proceeding initiated within the time limit provided for in the previous Articles shall be time-barred after 20 years. ART 13: Penalties imposed by judgements in felony cases shall be time-barred for a period of twenty years, as from the date of delivery of judgements. The Government may place the convicted person under house arrest at his/her domicile given the residence, the domicile of the person who or against whose property the offence was committed, or of that of his/her direct heirs. ART 14: Penalties for misdemeanours shall be time-barred after five years from the date the judgement is passed. ART 15: Penalties for simple offences shall be time-barred after two years from the date the judgement is passed. However, penalties passed for a simple offence related to a misdemeanour shall be time barred after five years in accordance with the provisions of Article 1 4. ART 16: Under no circumstances may persons who are sentenced by default and whose sentence is time-barred be allowed to appear in order to serve their sentence. ART 17: Civil convictions arising from rulings or judgements rendered in case of a felony, misdemeanour or simple offence, which have become irrevocable, shall be time -barred in accordance with rules established by the General Regime of the Obligations. ART 18: The provisions of this chapter shall not derogate from the special laws relating to the prescription of actions resulting from certain misdemeanours or simple offences. ART 19: Where restitution is necessary, the convict may be ordered, in addition, to p ay compensation to the aggrieved party, if the latter so requests. Determining the proper compensation shall be left to the discretion of the court of first instance or appellate court if the law has not yet clearly spelt out the necessary compensation, without the court of first instance or appellate court, even with the consent of the said party, being able to attribute it to any undertaking whatsoever. ART 20: Enforcement of penalties for payment of fines, restitutions, damages and costs may be carried out through imprisonment for non-payment. Where fines and costs are ordered for the benefit of the State, if after the expiry of the corporal or ignominious punishment, the imprisonment of the convicted person for the payment of these pecuniary convictions has lasted for a full year, he/she may, on the basis of legally-acquired evidence of his/her absolute insolvency, be released. The term of imprisonment shall be reduced to six months, in the case of a misdemeanour, except, in all cases, the convict serves another term of imprisonment for non-payment. ART 21 Where the property of the convicted person is insufficient to pay both the fine (on the one hand) and restitution as well damages (on the other hand), the latter convictions shall prevail. 4