Art. 167 Custody of seized property; disposition

When police search a place and take property under a search warrant, that property stays under the court's control. A judge oversees what happens to it, not the police department on its own.

If the property turns out not to be needed as evidence, or if the case is finished and it's no longer needed, the judge decides how it gets handled or returned. This means the item doesn't just sit in a police storage room indefinitely or get disposed of without any oversight. The judge makes sure it's dealt with properly, following whatever laws apply to that type of property.

For someone whose belongings were taken during a search, this rule matters because it means there's a court process for getting property back or finding out what happened to it. You're not just at the mercy of the police department's own policies. The judge has a role in making sure seized items are handled fairly and according to the law.