Paris Civil Court Fails to Address Total's Negligence in Meeting Duty of Vigilance for Tilenga and EACOP Projects

On February 28th the Paris Civil Court ruled that a legal action brought against Total by Friends of the Earth France, Survie and four Ugandan civil society organizations regarding the company's oil mega-projects (Tilenga and EACOP) in Uganda and Tanzania is inadmissible. The court stated that the current claims were substantially different from the claims made in the initial formal notice, rendering the legal action inadmissible. Read the full press release here.

The CSOs contest the decision, stating that they have only clarified their requests and arguments while providing more than 200 documents. The CSOs claim that the evidence provided is proportionate to the issues at stake and necessary to update their complaint due to the prolonged procedural battle initiated by Total in 2019. Read the full press statement of the CSOs reaction to the judgment here.

The CSOs' claims now need to be examined in depth by a civil judge following regular procedures on the merits, according to the judgment. The core issue of whether or not Total has fulfilled its duty of vigilance was not addressed in the ruling. The CSOs have compiled overwhelming evidence against the company, including the eviction of more than 100,000 people, drilling in a protected natural area, and the construction of a heated pipeline through fragile ecosystems.