Introduction

Scope of application

Compliance program

Protection of whistleblowers

Audit and sanctions

Rules arising from the Sapin II Law

EU law

French law

Rules derived from competition law

Sapin II Law/Competition

Scope ratione personae

Scope ratione materiae

Scope

Development of plan

Measures included in plan

Inclusion in management report

Vigilance plan

Injunctions

Civil liability

Sanctions

Duty of vigilance (devoir de vigilance)

CSR programs

Reporting

Communication

Reporting and communication

Judicial sanctions

Risk to reputation, strategy and stability

Corporate Social Responsability (CSR)

Middlenext Code

IFA Corpus

AFEP - MEDEF Code

Types

Principles of governance

Principles incorporating CSR values

Principles

Comply or explain

Binding force

Private codes of conduct

Compliance

A CSR procedure implies, on the part of the undertaking making the commitment, putting human beings at the heart of its concerns. At the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, the UN made it clear that undertakings are concerned by the impacts and responsibilities they have on individuals through their activities, whether in terms of discrimination, health, safety, freedom of expression or association,  …

Founding principles and sources

A CSR procedure implies, on the part of the undertaking making the commitment, putting human beings at the heart of its concerns. At the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, the UN made it clear that undertakings are concerned by the impacts and responsibilities they have on individuals through their activities, whether in terms of discrimination, health, safety, freedom of expression or association, or respect for privacy. The issue of protecting human rights has become central to the management of value creation, and has become a governance issue. Human rights are enshrined in a number of instruments which, taken as a whole, form the basis of international standards for universal human rights. They have the force of law in the States that ratify them.

First and foremost are the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, both of which were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1966 and came into force in 1976. Next is the International Bill of Human Rights, comprising the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights  and the optional protocols to these two conventions, one of which aims to abolish the death penalty . Also part of international human rights legislation are seven major conventions adopted within the United Nations, which aim to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination  and all forms of discrimination against women , and lay down measures to prevent and eliminate torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment , define the rights of child , deal with the trade in children, child prostitution and child pornography , the protection of migrant workers and their families, the protection of all persons from enforced disappearance  and the rights of persons with disabilities .

The United Nations Global Compact promotes respect for human rights, including the right to education, freedom of expression and a healthy environment, and calls on undertakings to:

- support and respect the protection of international human rights law ; 

- make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses. . Complicity is defined as being directly or indirectly involved in the violation of human rights committed by an undertaking, government, individual, group or other. According to the Criminal Chamber of Court of Cassation, in order to characterize complicity in a crime against humanity, it is not necessary for the accomplice to belong to the organization, if applicable, guilty of this crime, nor is it necessary for the accomplice to participate in the conception or execution of a concerted plan against a civilian population group as part of a generalized or systematic attack, or upholding the commission of ordinary civil law crimes constituting a crime against humanity, if he has knowledge that the principal perpetrators are committing or about to commit such a crime against humanity, and if, by his aid or assistance, he facilitates its preparation or commission, in particular by knowingly paying a sum of several million dollars to an organization whose purpose is clearly criminal .

In addition, among the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, some are specifically focused on human rights, and aim to combat inequality, poverty and hunger, and promote peace, good health and well-being, and gender equality. Similarly, the OECD Guidelines encourage undertakings to respect the human rights of those affected by their activities, in line with the international obligations and commitments of the host government.

Finally, the ISO26000 standard, which defines human rights as the fundamental rights to which all human beings are entitled, divides them into two categories. The first covers civil and political rights, and includes rights such as the right to life and liberty, equality before the law and freedom of expression. The second covers economic, social and cultural rights, and includes rights such as the right to work, the right to food, the right to the highest attainable standard of health, the right to education and the right to social security.

In a CSR program as defined by the ISO standard, the undertaking must respect human rights, recognizing both their importance and their universality. It must therefore :

- respect and, wherever possible, promote the rights set out in the International Bill of Human Rights;

- accept the universality of these rights, i.e. the fact that they are indivisibly applicable in all countries, cultures and situations;

- take steps to respect human rights, and in cases where they are not protected, avoid taking advantage of such situations;

- accept the principle of taking into account international standards of behavior in cases where legislation or its implementation fails to provide adequate protection of human rights.

United Nations (UN): International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966.

United Nations (UN): International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966.

The United Nations specifies that particular attention must be paid to the rights of vulnerable groups, including women, children, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples, migrant workers and the elderly.

Cass. crim., 7 September 2021, LawLex202200001404JBJ.

United Nations (UN): Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty 1989.

United Nations (UN): International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 1965.

United Nations (UN): United Nations Convention against Corruption 2005.

United Nations (UN): Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 1984 .

United Nations (UN): Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 ; United Nations (UN): Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict 2000.

United Nations (UN): Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography 2000.

United Nations (UN): International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 2006.

United Nations (UN): Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Optional Protocol 2006.

Compliance

129. Founding principles and sources

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

129. Founding principles and sources

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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