The Court of Cassation confirms the personal immunity of heads of state in practice

It is a big disappointment for human rights defenders. However, international lawyers mobilized in the fight against impunity. Consequently, The Court of Cassation. Meanwhile, the highest French jurisdiction, decided, Friday, July 25, that the personal immunity enjoyed by the court cassation confirms personal immunity heads of state in practice could not suffer from any exceptions. Consequence: the arrest warrant. issued in November 2023 by Parisian investigation judges against the former Syrian-president Bashar al-Assad for having ordered chemical attacks in the suburbs of Damascus in 2013, is canceled. This decision comes a few days before the twelfth anniversary of the Ghouta attack on Sarin gas. which had caused some 1,000 to 1,500 dead, including several Franco-Syrians.

This decision closes the door to the questioning before the French justice of heads of state in practice. who have personal immunity, as are the Prime Ministers and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The court did not seize the pole set by the Attorney General. Rémy Heitz, who had proposed to maintain the arrest warrant against Bashar al-Assad, by dismissing the personal immunity from which he benefited because France did not consider it since 2012 as the court cassation confirms personal immunity “Legitimate head of state in practice” having regard to “Mass crimes committed by the Syrian power”.

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