We are pleased to announce that, for the sixth year in a row, our Firm is recommended by the Legal 500 Europe, Middle East and Africa in the “Environment” practice area, and that our Counsel Mrs. Laure Marolleau is again recognized as “Next Generation Partner” in this area.
In a ruling issued on March 1, 2023, the Conseil d’Etat (French Administrative Supreme Court) clarified the conditions under which the administrative judge exercises his/her power to stay proceedings for the purpose of correcting the defects of an environmental authorization.
In two judgments handed down on February 28, 2023, the summary judge of the Paris Judicial Court declared inadmissible the claims of several environmental protection associations seeking that TotalEnergies be ordered to comply with its duty of vigilance obligations under the Law No. 2017-399 of March 27, 2017.
French criminal law is to be interpreted strictly. This principle, enshrined in Article 111-4 of the French Criminal Code, is a principle that permeates French criminal law. It follows that criminal law rules must be applied literally.
In a ruling issued on February 1, 2023, the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court) recalled this principle of strict interpretation of French criminal law in a case concerning the refusal of restitution of a seized property.
In a judgment handed down on November 22, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union held that the provision according to which information on the beneficial owners of companies should be accessible in all cases to any member of the general public was invalid, as it considered that such open access constituted a serious interference with fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
In a press release dated January 19, 2023, Mr. Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, Finance, Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, decided “to maintain the general public’s access to the data recorded in the register of beneficial owners until proper conclusions regarding the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union are reached”.
On February 1, 2023, the European Commission presented its Green Deal Industrial Plan to enhance the competitiveness of Europe’s net-zero industry and support the fast transition to climate neutrality.
The overall objective is to stimulate the development of clean technologies in the European Union and to ensure Europe’s strategic autonomy by reducing its dependence on third countries.