Publication

Taking the case of Bashar al-Assad as its starting point, this paper looks at the recent attempts to prosecute foreign heads of state in national-level courts. More specifically, the text's author 1) highlights the current status of this practice, which deliberately conflates judicial policing with foreign policy; 2) explores the attempts to prosecute President Assad in French courts; 3) investigates the foreign policy implications of such prosecutions; and 4) discusses whether or not it is possible, or even desirable, to reduce or do away with the political dimensions of this legal-political tactic.