In its judgment of 11 June 2020, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled very clearly on the right to call for a boycott: calling for a boycott of products from a State is a matter of political expression, protected by article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and cannot in itself be classified as a call for discrimination. The ECHR ruled in favour of the 11 applicants who had appealed against their conviction by the French courts following calls for a boycott in the Mulhouse region in 2009 and 2010. France was condemned by the ECHR, and had to pay "just satisfaction" to each of the 11 applicants.
By virtue of the "hierarchy" of standards and jurisdictions, the ECHR ruling is binding on France, which must draw all the consequences from it.
For the applicants, it was still necessary to obtain an explicit review of the Colmar Court of Appeal’s decision, which had unjustly convicted them in 2013, and for the French courts to overturn the sentences handed down against them. This is why they have applied to the Court for the Review and Reconsideration of Criminal Convictions for their convictions to be reconsidered, in a procedure that is quite usual in this type of situation.
Par son arrêt du 7 avril 2022, la Cour de révision, s’appuyant sur les termes de l’arrêt de la CEDH, a jugé recevable la demande des requérants. Elle a annulé les arrêts de la Cour d’appel de Colmar qui les avaient condamnés, et renvoyé l’affaire devant la Cour d’appel de Paris.
In its judgment of 7 April 2022, the Court of Revision, relying on the terms of the ECHR judgment, ruled that the applicants’ claim was admissible. It set aside the judgments of the Colmar Court of Appeal that had convicted them, and referred the case back to the Paris Court of Appeal.
The hearing was held on 4 and 5 October 2023, and again on 25 January 2024. The civil parties (Alliance France-Israel, Avocats Sans Frontières, LICRA, BNVCA, CCFI) had put forward their usual amalgams, in a particularly shameless manner. The Advocate General (prosecutor) had asked for the acquittal, justifying his decision with an analysis of the facts and detailed references to the ECHR ruling.
In its ruling of 14 March 2024, the Paris Court of Appeal confirmed, thirteen years later, the Mulhouse court’s decision to acquit the defendants.
In the current context of threats to freedoms, the Association France Palestine Solidarité welcomes this ruling by the Paris Court of Appeal, which takes full account of the consequences of the ECHR ruling.
It is now perfectly clear that calling for a boycott of products from Israel in protest against that country’s policies is perfectly legal, as long as it is not accompanied by calls for hatred or violence.
Current events require us to intensify our actions against the impunity of the State of Israel, which flouts all the rules of international law and is waging a genocidal war against the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip. AFPS will continue, as it has always done, to lead Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaigns to protest against the policies of the State of Israel and calls on everyone to mobilise in this direction.
The AFPS National executive Board, 14 March 2024
Picture : Paris Court of Justice © Benh Lieu Song
