On July 25, 2025, the France’s highest court delivered its judgment dismissing an appeal of a former Syrian Minister of the Economy and Governor of the Central Bank of Syria, who were indicted in France for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The appellant argued that, under customary international law, state officials enjoy functional immunity for acts committed in the exercise of sovereign functions, even when such acts are alleged to constitute serious international crimes. He claimed that the investigating chamber erred in denying him that immunity.

The Court rejected the appeal and held that functional immunity cannot be invoked in prosecutions for international crimes, such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Referring to previous jurisprudence—including rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the German Federal Court of Justice, and the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland—the Court found significant state practice establishing that international crimes constitute an exception to functional immunity under customary international law.

The Court dismissed the plea that the indictment was null and void and upheld France’s jurisdiction to prosecute the acts in question, even when the principal perpetrator is a foreign official.