SA Rougier is a logging company with its headquarter in Paris, France. Rougier operates on a global scale through its subsidiaries. In Cameroon, Central Africa, SFID (headquarter in Douala, Cameroon) and other subsidiaries are responsible for the exploitation.

Rougier Logs, Farmers Suffer

In the Southern region of Cameroon villager's livelihoods have been destroyed, due to illegal exploitation of the tropical forest.In May 1999 Rougier's subsidiary SFID entered the agricultural plantations in the villages of Djoum, without having a valid licence to exploit forestry reserves, and without the knowledge and consent of the villagers. In addition, the company created a number of access roads in order to enter these forest areas, with the roads traversing the farmers' fields. These illegal operations lead to the destruction of a significant part of the villagers' agricultural resources, and a number of farmers remain unable to resume their previous agricultural activities (fruit-trees and cacao), which represented their only source of income.

SFID refused to provide the victims with compensation, and the local authorities failed to ensure that the company behaved responsibly. The victims filed a complaint with the Prosecutor of the Republic of Cameroon. This inexplicably failed to result in a proper investigation of their allegations, as a consequence of the written declaration of SFID representative not to submit himself to the judge's investigation(6). Faced with this administrative and legal failure to provide redress, the victims decided to invoke the jurisdiction of the French courts towards SFID and their French holding company SA Rougier. This was the first time in France that foreigners brought a lawsuit against a company for damages which occurred outside of France.

However on February the 13, 2004 the French Appeal Court published the negative outcome for the seven Cameroonian planters and Friends of the Earth France, who also joined the case. The Appeal Court rejected the case, with the reference to Article 113-5 of the Criminal Code, which fixes that France may pursue ". whoever is an accomplice in the territory of the Republic of a crime or misdemeanour committed abroad if the crime or misdemeanour is punishable under both French law and the foreign law, and if it has been established by a final decision of the foreign court".

A logging road in Djoum area.

The Appeals Court judged that the plaintiffs had not provided adequate proof of the alleged impossibility of obtaining a penal conviction in Cameroon, although the complaint arises from very serious allegations of corruption by the French managers of SFID in Cameroon. This corruption explains in large part the impossibility for the victims to obtain justice in a Cameroonian civil or criminal jurisdiction and their decision to bring a legal action in France.

Such a court decision amounts to make the plaintiffs suffer the consequences of the acts of corruption they denounce, and in a way "compensates" the corruptor who, after having bought his impunity in Cameroon, also obtains it in France.

What differences would binding roles make? The judicial obstacles to this complaint highlight how flagrantly ill-suited French law is to the realities of globalisation. Certain archaic national legal provisions, and their judicial interpretation, seriously handicap efforts to end the impunity from which certain multinationals benefit. After the negative court decision in February 2004, the plaintiffs have consequently lodged an appeal to the Supreme Court, in the hope of annulment of the judgment of the Appeal Court. They are still waiting for the decision. While waiting for the court decision, there is an ongoing land dispute between the company and the communities in Djoum, for land supposedly borrowed by the communities to SFID, and registered in the company's name(7).

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All main information, except when referred differently, on this case was provided by Samira DAOUD, Association SHERPA. Specifically footnoted information is researched by Linda Nilsson, Friends of the Earth Europe. Editorial work has been done by Linda Nilsson. Photos were provided by Samuel Nguiffo, Friends of the Earth Cameroon.

6. Correspondence with Samuel Nguiffo, Friends of the Earth Cameroon, 2005-10-11.
7.Ibis.