Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
La loi relative au devoir de vigilance
English translation:
The Act in relation to (Companies') Duty of Care
French term
La loi relative au devoir de vigilance
Does it have an official English name? Or do the French not do that?
Corporate Duty of Vigilance Law seems to get the most hits on Google, but it is listed alongside the UK Modern Slavery Act, so calling it a law rather than an act is messing with my OCD. Are French laws always called laws rather than acts?
Jan 2, 2021 14:16: Conor McAuley Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
The Act in relation to (Companies') Duty of Care
Toggle French to English here: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devoir_de_vigilance
Act (and not Law) is used in both the US and the UK.
Tony's solution (use the French name of the piece of legislation) is one way of going about it, alternatively, depending on the context, insert a link to the Act on Legifrance: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000034290626?...
A second solution, if you want to provide some extra context for your readers, would be to flesh out the content of Act.
The key issues are listed here:
"Le plan comporte les mesures de vigilance raisonnable propres à identifier les risques et à prévenir les atteintes graves envers les droits humains et les libertés fondamentales, la santé et la sécurité des personnes ainsi que l'environnement,"
Thus, in addition to the English title suggested above, insert in round brackets after it, "regarding human rights and fundamental freedoms, health and safety, and the environment". (These concepts could also be bundled as "Environmental and Social Policy".)
Obviously if your whole text is about the above (which my instinct tells me it is), then there is not really any need for this.
A last option would be to provide the name of the Act in French, a link to it, and the note above as a footnote, which would keep your main text unclogged and flowing.
So I suppose you've got a few choices.
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Note added at 8 hrs (2021-01-01 15:55:53 GMT)
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One of the few "lois" to be translated (if not the only one) was rendered into French as (draw breath at this point), the:
"ACT N°78-17 OF 6 JANUARY 1978
ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, DATA FILES AND CIVIL LIBERTIES
AMENDED BY THE FOLLOWING LAWS:
ACT OF 6 AUGUST 2004 RELATIVE TO THE PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUALS WITH REGARD TO THE PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA
ACT OF 13 MAY 2009 RELATIVE TO THE SIMPLIFICATION AND CLARIFICATION OF LAW AND LIGHTER PROCEDURES
LAW NO.2009-526 DATED 13/05/2009
ORGANIC LAW NO.2010-704 DATED 28/06/2010
LAW NO.2011-334 DATED 29 MARCH 2011 RELATIVE TO THE DÉFENSEUR DES DROITS
ORDINANCE NO.2011-1012 DATED 24/08/2011
LAW NO.2011-334 DATED 29/03/2011
LAW NO.2013-907 DATED 11/10/2013
LAW NO.2014-334 DATED 17/03/2014"
You can see Tony's point about poor quality and consistency. I still prefer "Act" though.
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Note added at 8 hrs (2021-01-01 15:58:27 GMT)
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translated: translated "officially" I mean, under the aegis of Legifrance.
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Note added at 2 days 13 hrs (2021-01-03 20:36:38 GMT) Post-grading
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To Nikki:
Of course you could always avoid the question of on/in relation to/regarding etc. by anglicising the structure of the name of the Act, i.e.
the Parents Companies...Duty of Care Act
Personally I like to retain the original "skeleton" when I can.
The EU uses "on", for the record, e.g.:
"Regulation on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC"
neutral |
philgoddard
: "Act in relation to" sounds very awkward to me.
1 day 15 hrs
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When not in isolation, the construction perhaps sounds less awkward: (French) Act no 2017-399 of 27 March 2017 in relation to (Companies') Duty of Care..." See also my reply to Nikki.
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neutral |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
: "Act on..."
2 days 2 hrs
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I would not object to "Act on...". Perhaps a little archaic and reflects the French less. "In relation to" is possibly more common in Hiberno-Engish. See: https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/regarding-as-regards...
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Due diligence law
Selon le principe "caveat emptor" (Que l'acheteur soit vigilant) du droit romain, c'est à l'acheteur de se méfier, du fait qu'il ne peut se fier totalement au vendeur. Il présumera donc la mauvaise foi (ce qui est une anomalie juridique) chez l'une des parties.
Équivalents français
En droit des affaires, elle se manifeste de deux façons :
*l'audit préalable (Journal officiel du 28 décembre 2006) : investigation qui implique le recours à des experts, notamment comptables, financiers, juridiques, fiscaux ou sociaux, dont les conclusions serviront de base à la prise de décision d'un investisseur.
*l'obligation de VIGILANCE (Journal officiel du 28 décembre 2006) : ensemble de prescriptions légales imposant aux établissements de crédit et à toute personne recueillant des fonds, des contrôles visant à identifier leur interlocuteur et l'origine de ses ressources.
Source: Wikipedia
https://definitions.uslegal.com/d/due-diligence/
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philgoddard
: This is a slightly odd question because the text is Swedish and we don't have the context. But assuming it's the act they're referring to, this is nice and concise.
2 hrs
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Thanks!
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neutral |
Yvonne Gallagher
: https://corporatejustice.org/news/405-french-corporate-duty-... "vigilance" exactly so why insist on something else?
5 hrs
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The literal translation of the French law is 'Duty of Vigilgance Law'
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neutral |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
: I prefer "due diligence" here.
2 days 6 mins
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French (corporate) duty of diligence law
Also, not an official translation so not capitalised it relates specifically to corporations
See my reference
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Note added at 16 hrs (2021-01-01 23:14:55 GMT)
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As Tony has pointed out, and as in my ref.
It should be
duty of vigilance
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Note added at 16 hrs (2021-01-01 23:24:32 GMT)
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https://corporatejustice.org/documents/publications/french-c...
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Note added at 16 hrs (2021-01-01 23:25:07 GMT)
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https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/blog/what-lessons-do...
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Note added at 16 hrs (2021-01-01 23:34:08 GMT)
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just to be clear, the heading should read
French (corporate) duty of vigilance law
"corporate is in brackets as it may be clear from context so may be omitted. Same goes for omitting "French" if it's already clear it's a French law.
agree |
Yolanda Broad
2 mins
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Thank you
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neutral |
Francois Boye
: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Due_diligence
26 mins
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No, I meant to write "vigilance" as in my reference (but didn't notice, probably predictive text, on my phone). I don't agree that this is "due diligence" here and why I never agreed with your answer and posted my own
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agree |
Tony M
: But you've changed 'vigilance' to 'diligence'?
38 mins
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Oops, was writing on phone! (must have been predictive text and I didn't notice) Yes, duty of vigilance law
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agree |
writeaway
: With duty of vigilance. At least this means a valid answer is here for those who may need the correct terminology sometime in the future. /Sadly it's too often the way of Fr-En Kudoz. And not just Fr-En unfortunately
18 hrs
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well I got a nice slap in the face for my efforts. And wrong entry in glossary
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a law which is relative to duties of surveillance
"Forced or compulsory labour shall mean all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily."
(Les devoirs ou les obligations de surveillance sont ceux-ci d'une observation claire ou d'un constat clair. De la vigilance est une forme de veille ou de garde comme une mesure de précaution, ou à titre préventif. En ce qui concerne du travail forcé, ça pourrait être une forme de la censure, ou une législation qui existe en ce cas où il y ait des cas improblables de la traîte ou le commerce illégale des éclaves (de la prostitution?) et la possibilité de l'immigration clandestine, puissent avoir lieu de nos jours. Il y a un document de l'organisation internationale du travail qui comprend l'idée de l'exploitation commerciale et le travail forcé.
"Le travail forcé ou obligatoire signifie le tout travail ou le tout service qui est exigé d'une personne sous la menace d'une sanction (une pénalité) et par laquel la même personne se n'est pas offerte d'une manière (à titre) volontaire.")
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Note added at 6 days (2021-01-07 13:47:40 GMT) Post-grading
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https://www.saveusnow.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Huma...
In a document from the World Health Organization:
"In resolution 45/94, the U.N. General Assembly recalled the language of Stockholm, stating that all individuals are entitled to live in an environment which is adequate for their health and well-being. The resolution called for enhanced efforts towards ensuring a better and healthier environment."
"The first approach understands environmental protection as a pre-condition to the recognition of internationally guaranteed human rights, especially the rights to life and health."
I wonder if the words of that document could help resolve a problem in an area where occasionally street work might take place without any obvious reasoning or benefits, and which could potentially cause a hazard or environmental detriment.
(D'un document de l'organisation mondiale de la santé: "Dans la résolution 45/94, l'Assamblée Générale des Nations Unies a rappelé le discours de Stockholm. La résolution affirme que tous les individus ont le droit de vivre dans un environnement approprié à la santé et au bien-être. La résolution a appelé des efforts incrémentés vers l'assurance d'un environnement meilleur et plus sain."
"Le document s'apprôche d'abord à la compréhenson de la protection environnementale comme une condition préalable à la réconnaissance des droits humains qui sont d'une garantie internationale, surtout les droits de vie et de santé."
Je me demande si les mots de ce document pourraient aider à résoudre un problème dans un quartier où des travaux des rues pourraient avoir lieu de temps en autre, sans aucune raison évidente et sans paraître être pour le bien, et aussi, qui pourraient poser un danger ou un préjudice (un détriment) environnemental.)
"Each member of the International Labour Organization which ratifies this Convention undertakes to suppress the use of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms within the shortest time period."
"Chaque membre de l'organisation internationnale de travail qui ratifie cette Convention est d'accord avec la suppression de l'usage du travail forcé ou obligatoire dans toutes ses formes dans une période de temps la plus courte possible."
disagree |
Tony M
: Apart from the fact that the suggestion as a whole is awfully clumsy and un-idiomatic in EN, the use of 'surveillance' is highly inadvisable here; not only is it not a good synonym for 'vigilance', but it also has particularly unwelcome connotations.
23 mins
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disagree |
AllegroTrans
: the suggestion as a whole is awfully clumsy and your "explanation" sounds like it's from a machine translator
1 day 14 hrs
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Reference comments
French (corporate) "Duty of vigilance" law
https://acornintl.net/does-the-french-duty-of-vigilance-law-...
In early 2017, the French parliament adopted a law entitled “Loi n° 2017-399 du 27 mars 2017 relative au devoir de vigilance des sociétés mères et des entreprises donneuses d’ordre”, herein after “Duty of Vigilance” (unofficial English translation) for large companies...
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Note added at 16 hrs (2021-01-01 23:26:58 GMT)
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https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/blog/what-lessons-do...
"...A pioneering law
This legislation is unprecedented. For the first time, national legislation - put forward by a coalition of human rights organisations, trade unions and members of parliament - is addressing the harmful impacts of multinational companies on human rights and the environment, creating binding obligations for companies, and providing judicial avenues for victims.
The French Duty of Vigilance law is not only a formal recognition that soft law principles and voluntary initiatives are insufficient. It also translates into legal terms an economic reality: the decisive influence of parent companies over their subsidiaries and their supply chain when it comes to preventing and remediating human rights and environmental violations. To a certain extent, the choice of vigilance as a new legal term has enabled this paradigm change to enter the realm of hard law...."
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Tony M
1 hr
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Thanks. Have now put as answer
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agree |
writeaway
: yes this is helpful
3 hrs
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Thanks. Have now put as answer
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neutral |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
: In using the term "law", care needs to be taken so as not to give the impression that it is talking about a number of laws, a body of laws or indeed rules and regulations. "Due diligence" gets my vote. "Vigilance" is not quite the same in EN.
2 days 3 hrs
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You obviously haven't read my links or read up about this loi (usually translated as French "law"). I disagree with "due diligence" (which this is not) and "duty of care" is e.g. what a doctor has for their patient LOL
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Discussion
https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/la-respo...
If it is referring specifically to the Loi that Conor refers to, then without a reference somewhere to the full title and, at the very least, a date, that leaves it open to room for being mistaken for another source.
"Duty of care" has quite a particular meaning in a UK context. Reasonability comes into it but so does foreseeability. A "duty to exercise due diligence" might be preferable here. It's basically about reasonability and is commonly used, internationally, in business contexts.
These are the types of questions that come into mind on this one. Not easy as the source is not clear to me. Tony's suggestion is one way round it. Conner presents another path. Might I suggest:
"the [French] Act* on due diligence for companies**"?
* if referring to a specific piece of legislation rather than a body of law from a number of sources:
** if referring the statute Conor refers to, then the full title specifies certain types of companies only.
I suppose you could just call it "French Act no 2017-399 of 27 March 2017 (known as the Potier Act)" and be done with it, if you wanted to avoid the question a bit. Except M. Potier was busy that year: https://information.tv5monde.com/info/accaparement-des-terre...
As Tony says, they're not perfect, and many are out of date following amendments, but they're at least a starting point.
Contact me directly if you would like one (or all) of the documents. Same goes for everybody.
Examples of my personal strategy are:
... the French Civil Code (Code civil)
... French data protection legislation (Loi Informatiques & Libertés)
... French Law no. 38973 dated 14 January 1998
In order to be able to refer to the law correctly, the best thing might be to use the FR title, followed by an EN 'explanation' in ( ) afterwards.
To answer the second part of the question, yes, French laws are invariably called a 'Law', the term 'Act' is not used, and it would seem perverse to me to try and shoe-horn it into this text. Likewise, note that what would be called a 'Bill' in the UK is a 'projet de loi' in FR.
BTW, in many cases, where I opt for the 'FR + (EN explanation)', I often add 'French...' to my explanation, to make it clear which particualr legislation we are talking about — this is clearly important when talking about a Law whose title might correspond closely to a similar Act in EN.