The Paris Appeals Court has ruled that the French judiciary has the authority to uphold the international arrest warrant issued by Syria against Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, for his involvement in war crimes committed during the Syrian civil war. Lawyers representing Syrian refugees and non-governmental organizations in France have argued that this decision is significant, as it marks the first instance where a national court recognizes the personal responsibility of a head of state as inviolable. In May, French court officials had requested the dismissal of Assad’s international arrest warrant, citing his immunity as a head of state.