French Court Rules: Justice Begins Where Sovereignty Ends—even for Assad
See our article on the Court of Cassation’s hearing of July 4, 2025
While he held power in Damascus, French courts lacked the jurisdiction to issue an arrest warrant against Bashar Al-Assad for the 2013 chemical attacks in Eastern Ghouta. By the decision announced on July 25, 2025, the Court of Cassation (France’s highest court) preserved the immunity of sitting heads of state from prosecution by any other national court, even in cases involving international crimes. The Court methodically addressed–and dismissed–every argument brought by the Attorney General and the Civil Parties two weeks earlier to justify prosecution of heads of state.
The Civil Parties’ central argument was that international crimes could not be regarded as part of a head of state’s official duties and therefore, they could not be covered by personal immunity (aka head of state immunity). The Court responded that immunity presupposes that unlawful acts may be committed by state officials and is not expected to end once crimes take place. In a convoluted line of reasoning, the Court refused to exclude any type of crimes from such immunity, arguing that commission of international crimes inherently requires the exercise of the highest state authority.
Another argument brought by the Attorney General was that Assad lost his status as head of state after France ‘dis-recognized’ him in 2012. As a result, it was argued, he no longer enjoyed personal immunity after that date. The Court retorted that immunity applies even in the absence of diplomatic relations between two states. A ruling to the contrary would open the door to arbitrary prosecution by any state–including authoritarian regimes– against sitting heads of state.
The Court of Cassation thus upheld the principle of personal immunity, which has until now never been subject to any exception worldwide. Having established this, the Court claimed that personal immunity does not grant impunity, pointing to other avenues for prosecuting criminal heads of state. If national courts of foreign states remain stalled, crimes can still be tried by courts of the given country, in our case Syria, or by international criminal courts. Moreover, the personal immunity of a head of state is temporary, meaning he can be prosecuted as soon as he vacates his throne.
These arguments would not have held before December 8 when Assad remained in power. In that sense, the reasoning of court was disingenuous, on the one hand, proclaiming that there is no impunity for international crimes, but on the other hand rejecting the possibility of holding to account the one who is arguably most responsible for Syrians’ suffering over the last 13 years. Rather, the opinion was deferential to the principle of non-interference in a State’s internal affairs.
Following his fall, Bashar Al-Assad lost his personal immunity and became subject to prosecution for acts committed while in office. Still, like any other state agent, he now enjoys broader functional immunity for acts performed as part of his official duties. However, on the same day, the Court of Cassation rejected functional immunity for Adib M., former head of the Syrian central bank, prosecuted by French courts for his role in supporting manufacture of chemical weapons. Consequently, as long as international crimes are involved, Bashar Al-Assad cannot invoke protection under this second type of immunity. As a result, the Court urged that investigations against both men be pursued and, between the lines, invited the judge investigating the Ghouta chemical attacks to issue a new arrest warrant against Bashar Al-Assad.
In sum, the case did not create a long-sought exception to Head of State immunity for international crimes. But it did follow recent precedents in other jurisdictions to allow the prosecution of former government officials where international crimes are alleged.
See our article on Immunities in International Law
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