PARIS, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- France's highest court on Wednesday, ruling that a sitting president was immune from judicial prosecution for actions committed before taking office, a decision in favor of President Jacques Chirac who has been implicated in several corruption investigations.
The landmark ruling by the Constitutional Court also came as no surprise considering the 1999 similar conclusion reached by France's Constitutional Council, an advisory body.
The decision is likely to end effort to summon Chirac as a witness in ongoing investigations into alleged kickbacks that took place during Chirac's 18-year tenure as mayor of Paris. Chirac quit the post in 1995, when he was elected president.
Chirac has denied any wrongdoing. He has also consistently refused the summons by several judges over the past two years to appear as a witness, arguing he is constitutionally immune from testifying. The judges ultimately dropped their requests.
In its Wednesday ruling, the 19-member Constitutional Court also limited a French president's chances of appearing before the High Court of Justice, composed of parliamentarians. That could only take place, the Cassation Court ruled, in matters of high treason.
Earlier this year, Socialist lawmaker Arnaud Montebourg tried to get Chirac impeached. But the National Assembly parliamentarian was unable to get enough support to bring the measure to vote.
The Elysee presidential palace offered no immediate reaction to the Cassation Court's ruling -- the first of its kind in modern French history.
Nonetheless, analysts predict it will offer a political boost for Chirac, who is expected to run for re-election next year. Despite the allegations of financial wrongdoing dogging the president, however, Chirac continues to enjoy high ratings in French public opinion polls.
