Published on March 11, 2024

Duty of vigilance: La Poste appeals the decision of the Paris Court of First Instance of 5 December 2023

The ruling dismissed some of SUD PTT's claims (in particular those concerning subcontracting) and ordered La Poste to clarify certain elements of its Compliance Plan, without penalty or financial penalty and recognising the efforts made.

La Poste considers that several aspects of this judgment are open to criticism in fact and in law concerning the interpretation and application of the law on the duty of care.

La Poste considers it necessary to lodge an appeal in order to clarify certain points of interpretation and application of the law on the duty of care, in the absence of a decree specifying the terms of application of this law, and particularly in the event that the European directive on the duty of care is not ultimately adopted (this adoption process currently appears to be blocked).

A new division has just been set up at the Paris Court of Appeal to deal with duty of care and environmental liability cases. It would be useful for the first decision on the merits, which concerns many French companies subject to this law, to be analysed by this specialised court, especially if the harmonisation of the European legal framework that is to be brought about by the directive does not take place.