France’s highest administrative court rejected on Wednesday a class action lawsuit against the state for failing to stop police racial profiling, saying it was not the judges’ role to redefine public policy while recognizing that discrimination was a problem but not “systemic.
Six human rights groups took the police to court, saying they unfairly target young Arab and Black men during patrols. They wanted changes. The court didn’t agree, but said racial profiling is a real issue. A recent incident where an officer shot a North African teenager also raised concerns. This ruling is important and might affect future cases against the government in France.
The judges are still getting used to how class actions work. They seem a bit cautious about it. Antoine Lyon-Caen, the lawyer for the six groups, mentioned a successful class action in New York as an example.
According to Gwenaele Calves, a professor at the University of Cergy-Pontoise, the court’s decision is a positive sign for future group lawsuits because the judges acknowledged the discrimination and the victims as a whole.
However, she also pointed out that the request made by the groups was too broad and political for a French judge, unlike in the U.S.
Recently, the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly expressed worry about certain types of police misconduct that unfairly target people with an immigrant background in France. They urged authorities to establish a system for documenting identity checks.
This request for documentation of identity checks was one of the things the groups wanted in their class action laws.
CREDIT: FRANCE24