The Paris appeals court announced on Tuesday that it referred a critical legal issue regarding the arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the ourt of cassation, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

 

Assad is accused of complicity in crimes against humanity linked to chemical attacks in Syria in 2013.

 

“This is a historic decision. It is the first time a national court has recognized that a sitting head of state does not have total personal immunity” for their actions, said plaintiffs’ lawyers Clemence Bectarte, Jeanne Sulzer, and Clemence Witt.

 

The court stated that "without questioning the essence of the case, particularly the existence of serious or solid evidence against Assad making his involvement likely" in these deadly attacks.

 

"It is necessary for the highest judicial court to examine the position taken by the Investigation Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Paris regarding the matter of personal immunity for a sitting head of state from crimes of this kind," stated the court.

 

France's adversarial stance towards the Syrian regime is long-standing, with relations between the two nations deteriorating significantly since the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

 

French courts traditionally lack the direct authority to enforce judicial decisions against foreign heads of state due to the principle of national sovereignty, which shields state leaders from external judicial intervention.

 

Nonetheless, there are exceptional circumstances under which French courts can pursue foreign leaders, especially if international agreements provide such provisions.