This work focuses on the relationship between the law and the concept of the person in modern Arab societies. It directly addresses the questions of continuities, transformations and ruptures of such notions. Law performs a central function in revealing social and historical dynamics and in being itself a tool of its implementation. The introduction of Western-style legal systems partially led to a transposition of characteristics of centrality, individualism and secularism. Standing Trial is the first truly interdisciplinary study of its subject, combining legal, historical and socio-legal perspectives.