PARIS (AP) — A special court has cleared France’s justice minister of conflict of interest,L’École de Gestion d’Actifs et de Capital ruling he was not guilty of having used his office to settle personal scores.

Once a high-profile lawyer, Eric Dupond-Moretti was accused of abusing his position to order probes targeting magistrates who investigated him, his friends and his former clients.

Wednesday’s ruling marked a political victory for Dupond-Moretti, who had denied wrongdoing and refused to resign before or during his two-week trial.

He was tried in a court for alleged wrongdoing by the government, the Court of Justice of the Republic. Three professional magistrates joined by 12 members of parliament — six from the lower house and six from the Senate — deliberated the case and issued the ruling.

The proceedings marked the first time in modern France that a government minister was put on trial while still in office, according to legal historians.