Sudden breach of an established business relationship: The summary judge may order the continuation of the contract

Anaëlle Idjeri, Esq.

Faced with the urgency of the situation and the risk of imminent damage caused by the sudden termination of an established business relationship, the terminated business partner may ask the summary judge to order the continuation of the relevant contract.

This was recalled by the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court) in a decision dated June 24, 2020.

COVID-19: Extension of the rules governing meetings of shareholders and meetings of governing bodies of private law businesses

Catherine Nommick, Esq.

Decree No. 2020-925 of July 29, 2020 extends until November 30, 2020 the rules that eased the procedures governing the deliberations of shareholders' meetings.

This provides the opportunity to review the temporary and exceptional derogations set up on the basis of Law No. 2020-290 of March 25, 2020 to secure the internal operation of companies through the adaptation of the rules governing the holding and deliberations of shareholders’ meetings to the health measures imposed by COVID-19.

Pre-trial detention: The health crisis does not in itself justify the release from prison

Charlotte Desfontaines, Esq.

The conditions of detention, already well deteriorated due to the overcrowding that has been a constant feature of places of deprivation of liberty for several years, are necessarily and unfortunately adversely affected by the health situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic. How to implement social distancing, and more broadly, so-called “barrier gestures” (i.e. preventative measures that each individual should take to protect himself/herself and others against COVID-19) in places where the daily life is marked by the proximity between fellow inmates? It is impossible to do so.

Consequently, many requests for release from pretrial detention have been filed with the Liberty and Custody Judge. However, these requests for release have been dismissed. Following the upholding of a dismissal order, one inmate appealed to the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court). On August 19, 2020, the Criminal Chamber of the Cour de Cassation issued a ruling that confirmed the dismissal of the request for release.

International perspective: Consider doing a data protection impact assessment before migrating to the cloud

This month, we are pleased to feature a contribution entitled Consider doing a data protection impact assessment before migrating to the cloud authored by Isaivan Naidoo, Rakhee Dullabh and Lucinda Botes from ENSafrica, Africa’s largest law firm.

The cloud is now the preferred location for many businesses to host their data. The cloud comes with many benefits, such as increased security, reduced infrastructure investments and operational efficiency. Cloud products are also attractive because of their flexibility, scalability and ease of implementation.

However, as enticing as these benefits sound, it is imperative that organisations consider the privacy implications before migrating into the cloud. Conducting a data protection impact assessment is one method that could help minimise the risks.

COVID-19

All of our publications on COVID-19 and on the steps and measures taken by the French government to support jobs and help businesses are available in our COVID-19 Information Center.

At the international level, the World Law Group, a network of 59 leading independent law firms with more than 400 offices in major commercial centers worldwide, to which our Firm belongs, has set up a Global COVID-19 Resource Center centralizing all the articles and insights of its members on the local impact of COVID-19 and the measures to support businesses adopted by the various countries where World Law Group member firms are present.