On the 2nd of October 2025 in Paris, NOVA BHRE took part in the Council of Europe roundtable on Competitive Advantage for Businesses through Human Rights Compliance, co-organised with CMS Francis Lefebvre Avocats, Marsh and Alvarez & Marsal.
Our Director Claire Bright spoke on the second panel moderated by Nicolas Tollet and Elena Yurkina alongside Boris Verbrugge, Colin Johnson, and Nicolas Dzubanowski. She shared insights on what constitutes appropriate risk-based due diligence under recent case law on the French Duty of Vigilance Law.
👉 Key takeaways from her intervention:
-
Courts judge human rights due diligence against standards of adequacy and appropriateness.
-
Risk mapping forms the backbone of due diligence: weak or generic mapping undermines the entire due diligence exercise.
-
Procedures to evaluate suppliers and subcontractors must be risk-based and targeted, not box-ticking.
-
Alert mechanisms and monitoring must show real dialogue with stakeholders and evidence of effectiveness.
-
Monitoring must be meaningful: companies need to demonstrate follow-up on measures, and use indicators linked to salient risks.
-
Courts emphasise proportionality: obligations scale with company size, resources, and risk exposure, and want to see continuous improvement but cosmetic compliance will not suffice.
-
Responsible Contracting Practices will also be scrutinised as part of whether a company’s due diligence is considered appropriate.
👉 Recent French litigation (e.g. La Poste) confirms that judges expect vigilance plans to be specific, risk-based, and aligned with international standards.
#BusinessAndHumanRights #DueDiligence #CSDDD #DutyOfVigilance #CorporateGovernance #Sustainability #HumanRights
