It was by reading the Diary of Maurice Garçon, the illustrious lawyer who wrote it under the Vichy regime, that I asked myself this question: if in the future even a government resulting from regular elections decided to implement an unworthy policy, contrary to the fundamental rights of people, could the justice system oppose it and defend the essential, the rule of law?

That's the bet of this book. Post-war Europe has been rebuilt on an international judicial system designed to guarantee public and individual freedoms, which States must respect in all circumstances, and which allows any person who is a victim of an abuse of power to bring a complaint before the courts of his country and then before the European Court of Human Rights.

Its development has been remarkable in recent years. The three major French courts, the Constitutional Council, the Court of Cassation and the Council of State, have each developed jurisprudences in this spirit to protect freedoms, sometimes against political power. This book praises them, explaining some of their most significant decisions.

But this judicial system does not work on its own. It is up to lawyers, prosecutors and judges to serve this idea of justice. They have very effective legal tools at their disposal for this purpose, which they make good use of. To the point that some political leaders take a negative view of the emergence of this new "judicial power", which they are considering muzzling!

François Saint-Pierre is a lawyer. He has been involved in criminal justice for many years. He published two previous essays, Avocat de la défense, in 2009, and Au nom du peuple français, published by Éditions Odile Jacob. Popular jury or professional judges in 2013. He is also the author of a Criminal Defence Practice, published by LGDJ Publishing, updated annually, which contains, as a toolbox, the rights of defence that can be used by persons facing criminal justice, whether they are defendants or complainants.