IRRC No. 907/908/909
French foreign fighters: The engagement of administrative and criminal justice in France
Reading time 64 min read
Abstract
Since 2012, it is estimated that 2,000 French nationals have joined jihadist armed
groups listed by the UN as terrorist organizations in Syria and in Iraq.
Consequently, a new prosecution policy has been introduced in France. To date,
more than 200 persons have been prosecuted and 1,600 persons have been placed
under criminal investigation. In parallel, after the 13 November 2015 terror attacks
in Paris, a State of emergency was declared. Persisting for two years, it introduced derogative administrative measures that slowly transgressed into regular criminal
law. Consequently, French administrative and criminal courts, with ordinary
judges and professional routines, find themselves involved in matters related to
armed conflicts – a completely new phenomenon for them. What role has been
performed by French criminal and administrative judges in the global fight against
terrorism?
This article takes a close look at France’s fight against terrorism and the engagement
of its domestic legal system in the context of foreign fighters and suspects of terrorism. It
outlines the radicalization processes of French administrative and criminal law along
with their hybridization and complementarity. While the armed conflict in Syria and
Iraq and the complex geopolitical context are clearly present in French courtrooms,
international humanitarian law and international criminal law frameworks are
almost entirely absent. At the same time, by granting a growing power to the
administration, the repressive and pre-emptive approaches introduced within
criminal and administrative law transform liberal conceptions of law and justice.