© Photo by Ahmed Akacha
On 25 July 2025, the French Court of Cassation overturned an arrest warrant against former Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, for his alleged role in chemical weapons attacks on the city of Douma and the Eastern Ghouta region of Syria in August 2013. The Court held that the former Syrian President enjoyed Head of State immunity when French investigating judges issued the arrest warrant against him in November 2023, since at that time he was still the President of Syria.
“The decision is an affront to the victims, including their families, who have been waiting for justice for 12 years,” said Mazen Darwish, Commissioner at the International Commission of Jurists and President of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression. “It goes against decades of normative evolution that seeks to ensure Heads of State are not incentivized to stay in power and continue committing crimes.”
There is increasing recognition that sitting Heads of State should not enjoy personal immunities in connection with the commission of grave crimes under international law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, for which they may bear criminal responsibility.
In June 2024, the indictment division of the Paris Court of Appeal had upheld the investigating judges’ decision to issue the warrant, finding that immunities do not apply due to the nature of the crimes.
As al-Assad is no longer a sitting Head of State, it was open to the Court of Cassation to determine the Prosecutor’s appeal against that decision was moot rather than issue such a retrogressive finding. It was already highly regrettable that the Prosecutor had appealed against the 2024 Paris Court of Appeal’s decision confirming the arrest warrant against Bashar al-Assad.
“If countries are actually committed to accountability, all branches of the State, including the Courts, can’t allow sitting Heads of State to commit atrocity crimes without penalty while issuing statements condemning them,” said Kate Vigneswaran, Director of the Global Accountability Initiative at the ICJ. “They have to adopt laws that clearly state personal immunities do not apply to crimes committed by high level State officials affecting all of us. With conflict and oppression on everyone’s doorstep in the current political climate, this is as relevant to their constituencies as it is to victims in other parts of the world.”
The Court of Cassation appears to have privileged international relations’ considerations among States over fighting the impunity of perpetrators of grave crimes under international law. The Court has indicated that the investigating judges can issue a fresh arrest warrant against Bashar al-Assad, who is reportedly residing in Russia after fleeing Syria in December 2024 and is likely out of reach of the French authorities. The finding shows that the Court has recognized that functional immunities do not apply to the crimes for which he was charged.
In a positive development the same day, the Court of Cassation issued a decision in another case against Adib Mayaleh, the former Governor of the Syrian Central Bank (2005-2016) and former Minister of Economy (2016-2017), recognizing that functional immunities do not apply when using public authority for criminal purposes. The indictment against Adib Mayaleh for alleged complicity in and participation in a conspiracy to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as money laundering, was upheld.
For comments:
Mazen Darwish, Commissioner at the International Commission of Jurists and President of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, mazen.darwish@scm.ngo, +491725146106
Kate Vigneswaran, Director of the Global Accountability Initiative, International Commission of Jurists, kate.vigneswaran@gmail.com, +31624894664
