French Administrative Supreme Court rejects the suspension of the platform established in partnership between the French State and Doctolib and hosted by Amazon

Laure Marolleau, Esq.

In an order dated March 12, 2021, the Conseil d’Etat (French Administrative Supreme Court) refused to suspend the partnership between the French State and Doctolib in the context of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

The plaintiffs had requested this suspension in summary proceedings, arguing that the safeguards provided by Amazon Web Services for data hosting were insufficient.

CSR: The subcontractor’s failure to comply with the client’s code of ethics justifies the immediate termination of the business relationships with the supplier

Anaëlle Idjeri, Esq.

Almost ten years after the Rana Plaza scandal and while many voices are being raised about human rights violations in the textile industry, the Paris Court of Appeals has recently issued a particularly interesting ruling combining corporate social responsibility and sudden termination of established business relationships.

Specifically, on March 24, 2021, it held that if a supplier fails to ensure that its subcontractors comply with its client’s code of ethics, the immediate termination of the business relationships cannot be considered as sudden within the meaning of Article L. 442-6 I §5 of the French Commercial Code.

COVID-19: Joint opinion from the EDPB and the EDPS on the digital green certificate designed to facilitate travels within the EU

Pauline Kubat, Esq.

On March 17, 2021, the European Commission presented a proposal for a regulation to create a digital green certificate to facilitate free movement within the European Union in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This contemplated digital tool was discussed in a joint opinion from the European Data Protection Board and the European Data Protection Supervisor dated March 31, 2021, published on April 6, 2021.

This article is also available in our COVID-19 Information Center.

Infographic on the key figures of the audit activities of the French Anticorruption Agency published in its 2020 annual report

Sophie Hosri, Esq.

The French Anticorruption Agency (Agence Française Anticorruption, hereinafter “AFA”) published its 2020 annual report in March 2021.

This provides the opportunity to review the key figures of its audit activities in one infographic, four years after its creation by the Law of December 9, 2016 on transparency, fight against corruption and modernization of economic life, known as the “Sapin II” Law.

While these figures help us identify a trend concerning the types of audits carried out and the entities concerned, the AFA could in the future extend these audits by deciding to subject more companies to the compliance scheme, as it seems to envisage in its latest guidelines.

French Supreme Court puts a final end to the Barbarin case

It is with immense satisfaction that our founding partner André Soulier learnt that the appeal filed by certain members of the association La Parole Libérée against the January 30, 2020 decision of the Lyon Court of Appeals of Lyon to acquit Cardinal Barbarin, former Archbishop, had been dismissed.

It is fortunate and salutary to see that the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court) recalled the importance of the concept of personality and the strict interpretation of criminal law.

“Contributor Most Read in France, March 2021” Award

We are pleased to announce that our Firm has received the “Contributor Most Read in France, March 2021” award from Mondaq, one of the largest global online advisory content suppliers with more than one million registered users.