Legal Action

Sherpa takes legal action to address violations perpetrated by economic players, with a twofold objective: on the one hand, to ensure that justice is served in specific cases, including supporting victims and affected communities seeking reparation. On the other hand, beyond specific cases, these legal actions, sometimes called “strategic litigation”, aim to contribute to wider systemic change.

Latest news on our cases

News
Corporate Impunity

Michelin in India: the civil society is heard ?

The Facts… The Michelin enterprise’s work lies across 69 production sites in 18 countries, particularly in India. There, the enterprise is constructing its largest…
News
Illicit Financial Flows

Ill-Gotten Gains : Gabon

The Facts… President of the Gabonese Republic from 1967 to 2009, Omar Bongo Ondimba ruled Gabon against a continuous backdrop of suspected corruption.  On…
News
Corporate Impunity

DEVCOT and forced child labor in Uzbekistan

The Facts…  Uzbekistan is the world’s 5th largest producer and third largest exporter of cotton.  The cotton industry in Uzbekistan is completely controlled by…

Impact

Why initiate legal action?

Sherpa

The law is a tool of power in a globalised world. It underpins power relations and encourages impunity for the most powerful. Because of their transnational nature, or the political and economic stakes involved, many violations escape justice. Bringing cases before the courts means putting the debate back on a legal footing, giving a voice to the people affected and thus restoring the legal tool to social movements.

Sherpa

Thanks to the work of NGOs and journalists, the consequences of globalisation are increasingly being documented and denounced. Our legal actions make it possible to initiate an contentious proceedings, establish the facts and apply the rules of law to these situations. They also aim to provide practical solutions by putting a stop to violations, holding the players concerned responsible and/or enabling victims to obtain compensation.

Sherpa

In support of our advocacy and in parallel with our legal laboratory and capacity-sharing activities, our legal actions are designed to contribute to wider and lasting change. They fuel public debate to highlight the limits of the legal framework and the obstacles facing the victims of globalised capitalism. They set precedents that shape a more protective legal framework.