“The Guardians of the Law,” on France Culture: an instructive immersion into the mysteries of justice

FRANCE CULTURE – ON DEMAND – DOCUMENTARY SERIES

The subject—the guardians of the law—may seem dry. It's no less fascinating, however. Especially since it's designed to literally fill listeners with it, not just for their ears.

Episode 1: The Court of Cassation. Thanks to the cleverly mounted and perched microphones, and also to the expert lighting of Philippe Galanopoulos, curator of the libraries of the Court of Cassation, the listener is taken on a tour so immersive that one might believe it is our footsteps that make the parquet floors creak, or we who take the spiral staircase to access the concierge's lodge.

While two professors and sociologists of law (Pascale Deumier and Liora Israël) take turns to explain the role of this institution (last resort for a person convicted of criminal proceedings or whose claim for compensation has been dismissed), the case of the Mennesson couple is given as an example: after a legal battle of almost eighteen years, the Court of Cassation recognized, in 2019, the filiation of the latter with their two daughters, born through surrogacy abroad, despite the prohibition of this practice by French law.

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