France’s top court annuls Bashar al-Assad arrest warrant over immunity

France's highest court, the Court of Cassation, ruled today, Friday, to invalidate an arrest warrant previously issued against former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The warrant had been issued by investigative judges in Paris on charges related to chemical attacks in Syria in 2013 during the Syrian conflict.

The Court of Cassation determined that no exception could lift the immunity of a head of state, thereby overturning the initial arrest warrant.

However, Christophe Soulard, President of France's highest judicial body, clarified at the conclusion of an unprecedented public session, which was broadcast online, that since Bashar al-Assad is no longer president following his removal in December 2024, "it is possible that new arrest warrants have been or will be issued against him" in cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

This means that the judicial investigation against him can continue.

The initial warrant had been issued in connection with the sarin gas attack in Ghouta in August 2013, which killed over 1,400 people, and other chemical attacks.

The ruling marks a significant legal development in efforts to prosecute alleged atrocities committed during the Syrian conflict, balancing principles of head of state immunity with the pursuit of accountability for serious crimes.