French top court to rule on racial profiling for first time

FILE - In this Feb.25, 2015 file photo, plaintiff Bocar, center, is interviewed by the media at the Paris appeals court in Paris, France. France's highest court will rule for the first time Wednesday Nov. 9, 2016 on the cases of 13 black and Arab men who claim they were victims of unjustified identity checks based on racial profiling. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Feb. 25 2015 file photo, French plaintiffs Regis Amponsah, left, and Elize Novembre, right, stand with Lanna Hollo, senior legal officer with Open Society Justice Initiative, and talk to the media at Paris appeals court, in Paris. France's highest court has ruled on Wednesday Nov. 9, 2016 for the first time that police illegally checked three minority men's identities based on racial profiling, a key source of tension between officers and youth in poor suburbs. . (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File) (The Associated Press)

France's highest court will rule for the first time on the cases of 13 black and Arab men who claim they were victims of unjustified identity checks based on racial profiling.

The Cour de Cassation is expected Wednesday to set more specific rules for ID checks in France, a key source of tension between police and minority youth in poor suburbs.

The prosecutor has asked the judges to declare only eight of the 13 cases illegal, saying the five others appeared to be based on "objective elements" and therefore not discriminatory.

The lawyer for the 13 men has said all the checks in 2011 and 2012 violated the basic rights of his clients.

French police consider checks as an important to fighting crime and the treat of terror attacks.