Editor's note: Before joining the Asser
Institute as an intern, Alexandru Tofan pursued an LLM in Transnational Law at King’s College London where he focused on international human rights law, transnational litigation and
international law. He also worked simultaneously as a research
assistant at the Transnational Law Institute in London on several projects
pertaining to human rights, labour law and transnational corporate conduct.
The recent
indictment of the French multinational company ‘Lafarge’ for complicity in
crimes against humanity marks a historic
step in the fight against the impunity of corporations. It represents the first time that a company
has been indicted on this ground and, importantly, the first time that a French
parent company has been charged for the acts undertaken by one of its
subsidiaries abroad. Notably, the
Lafarge case fuels an important debate on corporate criminal liability for
human rights violations and may
be a game changer in this respect.
This article analyses this case and seeks to provide a comprehensive
account of its background and current procedural stage. More...