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Decision by the appeal court of Versailles - 10 December 2020 - Aff. ActionAid France, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Collectif Ethique sur l’étiquette, Les Amis de la terre, Survie v. Total S.A. (in French)
"The Paris Civil Court has issued a summary judgment following a legal action brought by Friends of the Earth France, Survie and four Ugandan civil society organizations (AFIEGO, CRED, NAPE/Friends of the Earth Uganda and NAVODA) against French oil giant Total, regarding its oil mega-projects (Tilenga and EACOP) in Uganda and Tanzania."
A French court dismissed the landmark case against TotalEnergies on procedural grounds. Several NGOs filed a suit to suspend a controversial oil project in Uganda & Tanzania citing human & environmental rights concerns. The NGOs can appeal the decision.
“The Court of Cassation, France’s highest court, ruled Wednesday to resolve procedural issues in favor of six nonprofit groups in their case against oil giant Total Uganda.”
“The [French Supreme Court]…issued its ruling on the case against the oil giant Total, led by six French and Ugandan civil society organizations (CSOs) - Friends of the Earth France, Survie, AFIEGO, CRED, NAPE and NAVODA. This is the first legal action based on the law on the duty of vigilance of transnational corporations”
The judges ruled in favour of Total, confirming the judgment of the first instance court which considered that this dispute fell within the jurisdiction of the commercial court. Civil society believes that this decision is contrary to the spirit of this law and harmful to its implementation.
Two NGOs claim that tens of thousands of people have been hurt by human rights violations linked to Total’s oil operations in Uganda
The judges ruled in favour of Total, confirming the judgment of the first instance court which considered that this dispute fell within the jurisdiction of the commercial court. Civil society believes that this decision is contrary to the spirit of this law and harmful to its implementation.