More than four years on from the adoption in France of the 'duty of vigilance' law (see article n°10079), parliamentarians have granted jurisdiction in the event of litigation to judicial courts (tribunaux judiciaires) in the country. The shift comes in an article of a bill on confidence in the judiciary and has provoked lively debate, with senators having granted jurisdiction in this area to commercial courts (tribunaux de commerce), which are considered to be less watchful of company activity. Parliamentarians are also urging the government to put the issue on the agenda of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union, which begins next year.
The wording of the text is not set to change. The parliamentarians of the joint committee, which was tasked with establishing a compromise between France’s upper and lower houses, the Senate and National Assembly, finally chose to go back on the version of article 34 of the bill that had been voted by the lower house, which will give judicial courts jurisdiction in the event of disputes relating to companies’ duty of due diligence in matters of human rights and environmental protection. The iss
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Article authors
Antoine Piel
Section Head at Mind HR