This paper is a study on the digital presence of the “Constitutional Counsel”, the “State Counsel” and the “Court of cassation”. While it may seem a bit surprising, the three Higher Courts in France have, for many years, had a social media presence on several global platforms, and maintained a dynamic website. “Additional Speech” is the publication, made by an internal official service of the courts, which provides an explanation of court rulings. This explanation is available at the same time the official ruling is released and is published exclusively online.

Official communication of the Courts is not new. What is new is the use of digital channels and social media to influence the legal community, the media and the average citizen by attempting to control the messaging and potential analysis of legal arguments within a case. Upon examination, it appears that the French judiciary is aware, and in fact, harnessing the power of social media to highlight and influence the relationship between law, technology and conversations happening in the wider society. So what is the objective of “Additional Speech” and how can we approach this practice in the context of a larger digital transformation globally?

This study will use an interdisciplinary approach to show that “Additional Speech” is a tool used by the Higher Courts to exercise “Judicial Diplomacy”.