OECD

Filter category

Feature post image

Substantive Implications of the Duty of Vigilance Ruling Against TotalEnergies

July 13, 2026

In its 25 June 2026 judgment in NAAT et al. v. TotalEnergies, the Paris Judicial Court ordered TotalEnergies to update its vigilance plan within six months to address climate-related risks arising from its Scope 3 emissions—emissions from the combustion of its oil and gas which account for around 90% of its carbon footprint—and to include appropriate measures to mitigate those risks or prevent serious harm. The TotalEnergies ruling has far-reaching substantive implications for companies subject to the Duty of Vigilance Law and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (‘CS3D’), and constitutes a new building block in the legal architecture for climate protection. The ruling builds on an emerging global judicial dialogue in which courts draw on each other’s decisions, with principles developed in climate cases against States now informing corporate accountability (Climate Litigation Network, Laying the Foundations for Our Shared Future, p. 18).  By doing so, it consolidates the normative foundation of corporate climate obligations across domestic and international legal orders.

Read more

A Bite at the Apple: States’ Struggle to Tax Digital Services

December 27, 2023

Taxation might not top the agenda of the readership of EJIL:Talk!. And yet, we have all heard the chorus of mass media and policymakers decrying the tiny tax liabilities of large corporations operating in the digital economy. Does international law have nothing to contribute to this discussion? Of course it does. In fact, the…

Read more

How Does the Financial Sector Relate to the European Commission’s Proposal For a Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive?

February 22, 2023

In the last few years, there has been a significant momentum behind imposing mandatory obligations on multinational enterprises (MNEs) to respect human rights and the environment. In 2017, France became the first Member State of the European Union (EU) to adopt and implement legally binding obligations on MNEs with the Loi de Vigilance. Following France’s footsteps, Germany…

Read more

Of Mazes and Layers: Can a UN Convention on Tax Change the Rules of the Game?

November 10, 2022

The Maze Last month, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly’s Economic and Financial Committee (Second Committee) tabled a draft resolution calling for the elaboration of a UN convention on international tax cooperation. Lauded by civil society as “a chance of legitimate, inclusive rule-setting” the initiative is yet to be remarked on, or acknowledged by,…

Read more

Challenging the Olympic Charter at the Swiss OECD National Contact Point

October 2, 2020

In January 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued guidelines to clarify the content of the controversial Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter (OC). Rule 50 prohibits any ‘kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas’. It was introduced to the OC during the 1970s, following one of…

Read more