Analyse
14 juillet 2020

La Cour de cassation a jugé que le non-respect des dispositions anticorruption pouvait permettre au co-contractant de mettre fin aux relations commerciales établies (En anglais)

Bastille Day Newsletter 2020 - Enforcement & Court Decisions

 

On November 20, 2019, the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) ruled that failing to comply with anticorruption provisions included in a contract is a valid ground for terminating a long-established business relationship. The dismissed contractor in breach of compliance requirements is not entitled to claim damages based on the abrupt termination of an established business relationship.

This is the first decision rendered on the topic. This verdict emphasized that the French Supreme Court considered that “compliance law” have become unavoidable.

 

I. The French Supreme Court ruled that a breach of anticorruption compliance and a failure to declare its interests is sufficient to characterize a misconduct enabling to terminate a contractual relationship

A French company specialized in the marketing of medical devices (“EIC”) signed a business agency contract in 2007 with the French subsidiary of the U.S company Biomet, Zimmer Biomet France (“Biomet”).

Under the terms of this contract, EIC “undertook to carry out its activities in compliance with the applicable rules, and in particular acknowledged that it had been informed of the provisions of the former Article L. 4113-6 of the Public Health Code and acknowledged that he had to comply with them”. The company also undertook to subscribe to the Biomet Group’s global anti-corruption policy providing that “all Biomet collaborators will be required to sign a certification of their adherence to the Policy on a regular basis, as well as to satisfactorily participate in training on applicable anti-corruption legislation”[1].

After EIC refusal to renew his adherence and certification to Biomet anti-corruption policy and the failure to declare its links of interests, Biomet terminated the contract without prior notice due to a serious breach of EIC’s contractual compliance obligations. EIC then sued Biomet in front of the French courts for abrupt termination of an established commercial relationship pursuant to article L 442-6 I 5° of the French Commercial Code [2].

For the first time, the French Supreme Court ruled that a breach of anticorruption compliance rules is a valid ground for to terminating a commercial contract for misconduct.

More specifically, the French Supreme Court endorsed the judges of appeal considering that “taking into account the rules set out in the compliance program and the agreement concluded, the failure of [EIC] to comply with its contractual obligations, in that it was likely to result in Biomet’s own liability, was sufficiently serious to justify the termination of the commercial relationship without notice » [3].

 

II. French Supreme Court stance for compliance law

The decision emphasized that the French Supreme Court considered that a company may engage its liability for its business partners failure to comply with anticorruption compliance requirements.

In the case at hand, it is relevant to note that the defendant company signed a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (“DPA”) with the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2012 for corruption of public officials. Under this DPA, Biomet agreed to pay a 17 million dollars fine and to strengthen its anticorruption compliance program under a monitorship. The enhancement of the anticorruption compliance program included relationships with third parties, namely business partners. In this context, the non-compliance of its contractor with its anticorruption requirements exposed Biomet to a sanction and a criminal risk.

In addition, IEC failure to declare its interests took place in the context of increased transparency requirements with French anti-gift rules and public health scandals.

In line with the Sapin II law requirements [4] and the French Anti-corruption Agency (“AFA”) guidelines [5] in terms of control over third parties before entering into/during a business relationship, this ruling sends thus a strong message to French businesses : they must maintain a high level of requirements in terms of internal control and third-party controls with respect to the compliance policies. Moreover, and in accordance with the recent publishing of the political procedure circular on the fight against international corruption [6] by French Minister of Justice Nicole Belloubet, the companies must be involved in the fight against corruption and its implementing mechanisms [7].

Contenu similaire

Événement
4 mars 2025
Paris Arbitration Week 2025 – Red flags et arbitrage : tendances et outils pour lutter contre la corruption
Navacelle organise aux côtés de Forensic Risk Alliance une conférence sur le thème de la conformité et l'arbitrage le 8...
Publication
2 janvier 2025
Guide du praticien des enquêtes internationales (2025) – GIR
NAVACELLE co-auteur du chapitre français de la neuvième édition du guide du praticien des enquêtes internationales publiées par Global Investigations...
Revue de presse
16 mai 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 12 mai 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur la prise de position du chancelier allemand Friedrich Merz, qui appelle à...
5 min
Revue de presse
9 mai 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 5 mai 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur la démission de François Commeinhes de son poste de maire de Sète...
5 min
Revue de presse
2 mai 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 28 avril 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur les réquisitions prises à l’encontre de François Fillon dans l’affaire des emplois...
5 min
Revue de presse
25 avril 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 21 avril 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur la libération du prince Paul de Roumanie par les autorités françaises, malgré...
5 min
Revue de presse
17 avril 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 14 avril 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur l’élargissement de l’enquête ouverte à l’encontre d’Éric Garandeau pour des faits de...
5 min
Événement
13 avril 2025
[Webinaire] L’accompagnement des acteurs économiques face aux enjeux de la conformité – RIFAV
Stéphane de Navacelle et Julie Zorrilla ont participé à la formation du Réseau International des Femmes Avocates (RIFAV) - Afrique...
Revue de presse
11 avril 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 7 avril 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur le vote du report de l’application du CSRD au bénéfice de certaines...
5 min
Revue de presse
4 avril 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 31 mars 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur la sanction de 150 millions d’euros prononcée par l’Autorité de la concurrence...
Revue de presse
28 mars 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 24 mars 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur la convocation du secrétaire général de l'Élysée, Alexis Kohler, à une commission...
Revue de presse
21 mars 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 17 mars 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur l'assignation en justice de Carrefour par deux ONG pour manquement à son...
Revue de presse
14 mars 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 10 mars 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur la condamnation de la banque suisse UBS pour harcèlement moral à l’encontre...
Revue de presse
7 mars 2025
Revue de presse – Semaine du 3 mars 2025
Cette semaine, la revue de presse revient sur l'instauration d'une commission d'enquête indépendante par la congrégation religieuse de Bétharram, la...