ABSTRACT
The trial of Pierre Laval took place in a lofty courtroom in the Palace of Justice in the Ile de la Cite, which is the heart of Paris which is in the heart of France. The High Court before which he was appearing was a special court established in June, 1944, by the provisional government of de Gaulle to try crimes of officeholders between the French collapse of 1940 and the Allied victory of 1945. Elections were scheduled for October 21, 1945. The final decision would be made by the judges deliberating in common with the jurors. The Court's session had brought out the fundamental issues of the trial – the accusation against Laval, the defects of the preliminary proceedings, the absence of defence counsel and the roles played by the leading actors, defendant, prosecutor and judge, during the Vichy years.
