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Corporate Impunity

[Opinion] Corporate complicity in crimes against humanity: the Lafarge Case

- 2min to read

In October 2022, Lafarge pleaded guilty in the US to funding terrorism and accepted to pay 778 million dollars in fine and forfeiture. While unprecedented and presented as an important decision, the plea agreement enables Lafarge to avoid a public trial and fails to address the more central questions of corporate complicity in international crimes and reparations for those affected.

The ongoing French criminal procedure against Lafarge could help answer these questions and challenge the historically prevailing impunity of corporate actors. Two recent decisions, taken at the highest levels of the judicial system, have sent a clear message to multinationals: they can face charges for the gravest human rights violations, even if they were committed abroad via a subsidiary. These legal victories, obtained under the impetus of Sherpa and European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights e.V. (ECCHR)’s work, are further steps towards making multinationals accountable. 

In an article for Opinio Juris, Anna Kiefer, Advocacy and Litigation Officer at Sherpa, Cannelle Lavite, Co-Director of the Business and Human Rights program at ECCHR and Claire Tixeire, Senior Legal Advisor at ECCHR, share some key takeaways from the French proceeding. 

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Un article published on 10 March 2022 on Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.