A dissertation by Syrian Professor turns into a law in France

Entering the world of scientific research is a sublime act, as it seeks to find ideas that lead to the development of society, but what will happen if the researcher in the legal scientific field was indeed able to find a new legal theory that goes to amending laws, creating a new level of protection for many people whom their fates are bond by these laws?!

Today we have one of those influential minds… their ideas affecting other communities in one of Europe’s countries known most for their scientific and legal progress, specifically France …

Dr. Issa Al-Makhoul, a professor at the Department of Criminal Law at the University of Damascus, was able through his doctoral dissertation entitled “Appropriate Penal Law for the Protection of Minor Victims of Sexual Crimes,” to devote a new theory called “ individualization of Crime,” that creates a new legal model for criminalization that guarantees greater protection for the victim , which attracted and convinced the French legislator of this theory enough to adopt most of the ideas contained in this thesis. In the enactment of Law No. 478 dated 4/21/2021, the French National Assembly and the French Senate approved most of the articles of this law based on the ideas mentioned therein, which were discussed at Lyon III University, Jean Moulin, in France in 2009.

Even though it took 14 years for this dissertation to witness the light of day through its implementation and as a result changing the life of many victims in the republic of France, especially the victims of sexual assault, whose cries for help maybe neglected and they may be afraid to speak up about their torture, knowing that law might not hear their appeals depending on the enacted laws.

So how will the adoption of this law change the legal accounts of minor victims of sexual assault in the real world?

First we must understand that the French law did not provide for the crime of incestuous rape or incestuous sexual assault, but the ideas proposed by Dr. Issa Al-Makhoul’s dissertation changed this legal perspective depending on the young age  of the victim and her/his weakness in front of this perpetrator who might have legal or actual authority over the victim, which prompted the French legislator To find the crimes of incestuous rape and incestuous sexual assault within the Penal Code, which will enable the French judiciary to take criminal measures against this perpetrator, thereby restoring the rights of many victims and deterring the perpetrators from carrying out similar assaults in the future.

More examples for the practical application of the newly adopted law:

A person solicits a minor girl via the Internet to have a relationship with her. Here, solicitation via the Internet is under   aggravating circumstances that allows the law to take penal measures against the perpetrator, this is what the French penal code provided after amending some of its articles , even if the relationship that took place was with the consent of the minor girl.

During Syria Times interview with Dr. Issa Al-Makhoul, he explained more about the practical applications of this newly adopted law based on his theory, as he added:

That laws in France in accordance to the ideas suggested in DrMakhoul’s dissertation  no longer adhere only to the age of fifteen years as the age of sexual awareness for minors in France , but that notion is now expanded to include the level of sexual comprehension and awareness that the minor victim has, even if he is already fifteen. Which means that in case the minor was approached sexually and he is only fifteen and not eighteen years yet, and he didn’t understand  the nature of sexual acts, is considered a sexual assault crime , punishable by law depending on the degree of his awareness and not his age, because many fifteen-year-old minors when they are subjected to sexual assault with their consent do not realize what they are facing. Dr.Issa even mentioned that in France , they have a slogan aimed at the under-aged and it says : “ Your body belongs to you , not your parents or society”.

Syria Times asked Dr.Makhoul  about the consistency of laws in Syria in everyday life:

Dr Makhoul  explained to us that in Syria we find minors afraid to speak up about the sexual assault crime they have faced, especially in case the perpetrator was one of their family members, as this will cause the victim to be in a weak and difficult position to try and restore his rights and end the perpetrator’s harm. Even more so the case when the victim is a minor and the perpetrator is the father, and thus the victim has a great fear of telling about this crime, and the crime may have become obsolete when he reaches the legal age, which leads to the expiration of the case in the first place.

Here, Dr. Al-Makhoul explained to us that if we enabled any party who has reached the legal age and is familiar with the minor victim who was sexually assaulted by a family member to take legal measures by appointing him as a special representative for this minor, this will save a large number of victims, moreover protection for this minor can also be provided by delaying The statute of limitation for the crime, meaning the victim is enabled to pursue his rights after he reaches the legal age .

Dr. Makhoul added that we do need to update the laws, but any change in the laws will not be beneficial in the absence of awareness and correct understanding of dealing with the law and legal procedures. He wished that the Ministry of Education could take it upon itself to spread legal awareness in schools, in cases where children or minors are exposed to sexual or physical assaults that enables them to understand that what is happening with them is a transgression and a crime, through which they can take appropriate measures to stop this crime, and the first step is speaking up to their school counselor about it.

Syria Times asked Dr. Makhoul what his favorite book was -one that he might recommend reading, and his answer was “The Spirit of Laws” by the French philosopher Montesquieu, and the reason why is that this book looks into the origin and spirit of each law rather than the rigid aspect of it and the importance of understanding how to build laws in accordance with the human spirit and the development of society.

Syria Times ended the interview by asking Dr. Issa about what inspired him to enter the world of criminal law?

He said that the law is divided into two main branches, civil law and penal law… Civil law deals with material aspects and the penal one deals with people and souls, and my entry into this type of criminal specialization is precisely because it deals with humans with souls and not with materials per se… for example civil law deals with contracts, companies, real estate and inheritance matters. This does not impress me … that’s why we could call the penal law as the law of the human.

In the end, better communities are built with the inspiration and investment of their scholars and creative minds … Do you think we can make Syria a better place as its sons are making  it ,but in other countries!

Syria Times, Leen Al-Salman