AN INDEPENDENT LEGAL AFFAIRS PUBLICATIONEDITION · 29 October 2026RSS
Business & Human Rights in LawBHRINLAW.ORG

Corporate accountability.
Human rights. Courts & enforcement.

THE ACCOUNTABILITY REPORTDecisions & developments · 7 reports in this edition
THE LEAD / France / Syria

Lafarge’s Syria financing conviction tests corporate criminal accountability

A Paris criminal court convicted Lafarge SA of financing terrorism connected to its Syrian operations and imposed corporate penalties. The company appealed, leaving the first-instance verdict open to review; separate questions about crimes against humanity and civil-party compensation were not resolved by this ruling.

DEVELOPMENT · 13 April 2026

On 13 April 2026, the Paris Criminal Court convicted Lafarge SA of financing terrorism in connection with payments made while the company continued operating its cement plant in Syria. The court imposed a €1.125 million criminal fine on the company and ordered publication and display of the judgment. It also imposed a separate €4.57 million customs fine jointly on the company and specified individuals for customs offences. These are distinct penalties and should not be merged into a single corporate fine. The court’s statement records the company’s conviction and the separate customs penalty.

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THE LEGAL RECORD

Follow the decision, the evidence and the procedural stage. A first-instance judgment and a final resolution are different steps.

Human-rights legislation / 2 April 2026

Swiss consultation puts parent-company liability options on the table

Switzerland’s April 2026 consultation proposed human-rights and environmental diligence duties and two parent-company liability options. The consultation ended on 9 July; the text reported here is the consultation proposal.

Switzerland · Consultation proposal, not enacted law
Courts & remedies / 26 February 2026

Dyson settles migrant workers’ case without admitting liability

Dyson and 24 migrant-worker claimants resolved their English proceedings in February 2026 without an admission of liability. The settlement followed litigation over the appropriate forum; it was not a judgment establishing the alleged factory abuses.

United Kingdom / Malaysia · Settled; no admission of liability

More reports & analysis

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Human-rights legislation / 24 February 2026

EU narrows corporate due diligence rules in final Omnibus approval

Final Omnibus approval raised the scope thresholds for EU corporate reporting and due diligence, removed the harmonised liability regime and pushed company compliance under CSDDD to 2029.

European Union · Amending directive adopted
Regulatory enforcement / 5 December 2025

EU’s first DSA fine targets X’s verification, advertising and research access

The European Commission’s first Digital Services Act non-compliance decision fined X €120 million over verification design, advertising repository deficiencies and barriers to eligible researchers’ public-data access. The decision concerns platform governance duties, not the legality of all content or compensation for users.

European Union · Commission decision; judicial challenge filed
Corporate accountability / 17 June 2025

La Poste ruling requires a vigilance plan to identify risks and track action

The Paris Court of Appeal affirmed an injunction requiring La Poste to complete specified elements of its 2021 vigilance plan. The ruling addresses the plan’s content and implementation, including risk mapping and monitoring, rather than awarding damages or imposing automatic liability for subcontractor harm.

France · Vigilance-plan injunction affirmed
Human-rights legislation / 19 November 2024

EU forced-labour products ban creates a market-enforcement route

The EU adopted Regulation 2024/3015 to prohibit products made with forced labour from being placed on or exported from the Union market. Its administrative investigation and product-removal framework applies generally from 14 December 2027 and does not create a worker compensation claim.

European Union · Regulation adopted; general application in 2027

The historical record

2011–2021

Country developments, cases and document notes, ordered by the date of the underlying record. These accounts were newly written and source-checked in October 2026. The older dates identify the events or documents; they are not claimed publication dates for these articles.

  1. 11 June 2021
  2. 2021
  3. 29 November 2020
  4. 29 April 2020
  5. 28 February 2020
  6. 14 May 2019
  7. 10 April 2019
  8. 26 November 2018
  9. 22 June 2018
  10. 8 May 2018
  11. 13 March 2018
  12. 14 February 2018
    Shell’s 2018 jurisdiction victory was reversed: the Okpabi procedural recordUnited Kingdom / Nigeria · 2018 ruling reversed in 2021
  13. 2018
  14. 27 March 2017
  15. 27 March 2017
  16. 2015
    The 2015 UN procurement supplement: future-proofing supply chainsUnited Nations procurement · Reporting-year document note
  17. 4 December 2013
  18. 2011
    Cees van Dam’s 2011 study: tort law and human-rights remediesComparative private law · Journal-article reading note