Scope
Companies with ≥5,000 employees in France or ≥10,000 worldwide (incl. subsidiaries)
France · act
Duty of Vigilance Law
Loi n° 2017-399 — Code de commerce Art. L.225-102-4 & L.225-102-5
In forceApplies 2017-03-27
Penalties
Civil liability for harm a compliant plan would have prevented; judicial injunctions; first damages rulings emerging
Last verified
2026-08-22
In plain language
What this law does
Requires in-scope companies to establish, publish and implement an effective vigilance plan covering severe human-rights, health/safety and environmental harms across own operations, subsidiaries and established subcontractor/supplier relationships.
Core obligations
Vigilance plan: risk mapping; assessment procedures for subsidiaries/subcontractors/suppliers; targeted mitigation actions; alert mechanism (with unions); monitoring of implementation; publication in the management report
Dictionary
Terms defined in this law
- Plan de vigilanceDuty of Vigilance Law
- ≥5,000 employees in France (head office + French subsidiaries) or ≥10,000 worldwide, for two consecutive yearsDuty of Vigilance Law
- Mandatory plan content: (1) *cartographie des risques* (risk mappingDuty of Vigilance Law
- Plan must be elaborated with stakeholder consultation where appropriate; published in the management reportDuty of Vigilance Law
- Mise en demeureDuty of Vigilance Law
- Judicial injunction (+ *astreinte*, periodic penalty payment) to compel a compliant planDuty of Vigilance Law
- Civil liability (Art. 1240/1241 Code civil)Duty of Vigilance Law
- TotalEnergies judgment (Paris Judicial Court, 25 Jun 2026)Duty of Vigilance Law
Claims
Claims connected to this source
Reviewed claim links will appear here.