Lafarge Case: A Turning Point for Corporate Responsibility

In a ground-breaking development, the French Supreme Court has declined to dismiss charges against Lafarge, a French cement company, for complicity in crimes against humanity related to its operations in Syria during the civil war. This decision marks a significant milestone in holding corporations accountable for their actions, highlighting the role of businesses in respecting human rights.  

Background: From 2012 to 2015, Lafarge, now operating as part of “Holcim,” a world leader in production of construction materials, chose to persist in its activities within a newly established, expansive cement plant in North-eastern Syria. Lafarge’s commitment to maintaining operations was made amid the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Syria, and the United Nations Security Council’s proscription of various locally operative armed fractions.   

This decision emerged against a complex backdrop of legal actions prompted by a criminal complaint made in 2016 by the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Sherpa, a human rights organization, along with eleven former Syrian employees. The accusations suggest that Lafarge, in the period spanning 2012 to 2014, engaged in transactions with the Islamic State (IS) and other armed groups to sustain the functionality of its Jalbaiya cement factory. These transactions, totalling at least 13 million euros, were purportedly exchanged for facilitating the unrestricted movement of personnel and equipment through checkpoints during the outbreak of war in Syria. Lafarge faced charges of not only seriously endangering the lives of its employees, but also of complicity in crimes against humanity committed by the Islamic State in Syria. The charges of endangering the lives of the former Syrian employees were dropped by the court, ruling that the safety protections provided by French labour law did not apply to Syrian employees.   

Evolving Legal Landscape:  By confirming the jurisdiction of French courts in the matter and upholding the charge of complicity in crimes against humanity, Lafarge becomes the first multinational business, as a legal person, to ever face such a charge in front of a domestic or international jurisdiction. This indicates acknowledgment of the role of corporate institutions, their organisational structures and decision-making processes in incentivising criminal actions.  

Through its earlier ruling on 7 September 2021, the apex court challenged the notion that direct participation or indispensability is required for establishing liability, and instead defined the legal contours of the mens rea element of the crime by noting: “Knowingly paying several million dollars to an organisation whose sole purpose was exclusively criminal suffices to constitute complicity, regardless of whether the party concerned was acting to pursue a commercial activity.”  

Asserting that an accomplice does not need to share the principal perpetrator’s intention, ideology, or larger plan, the ruling established that motives, including the pursuit of commercial activity, do not absolve a company from legal liability. It is sufficient that they have knowledge that their actions will facilitate crimes against humanity.  

Implications for businesses: The historic precedent opens the door for businesses to face charges for grave human rights violations. Anna Kiefer, a lawyer for Sherpa notes that, “The confirmation of the indictment for complicity in crimes against humanity is a key step towards Lafarge one day being tried for these acts.”  

For businesses operating in conflict zones, this case underscores the imperative to take reasonable steps to avoid contributing to war economies and the resulting human rights violations. It challenges long-standing notions of corporate complicity in international crimes, concomitantly introducing elements of corporate accountability in business operations.  

The precedent from the Lafarge case encourages a re-evaluation of corporate practices, emphasising the responsibility of companies to uphold human rights standards in all aspects of their global operations. There is a renewed opportunity for businesses to focus on human rights as a strategic lever, now more than ever.