Sherpa was born out of a fundamental observation: the gap between the political, economic, and social existence of multinational companies and their legal non-existence. Indeed, multinationals, whose names, brands, and economic importance are known worldwide, are, however, not fully treated as such by law. This situation is a major source of impunity in the globalized world.

This conclusion led to the drafting of the first edition of Sherpa’s Handbook of Proposals, in 2010. Its aim was to explain and overcome the obstacles to the regulation of multinationals by formulating proposals.

Some of these proposals have made their way into positive law. The law on the duty of vigilance adopted in 2017 is one example. Other proposals, however, have not stood the test of time. Sherpa's practice, particularly in litigation, has made it possible to identify the limits of certain proposals.

On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, Sherpa sought to review these proposals and propose a new updated version of the Handbook. Sherpa shines a spotlight on concrete human rights violations observed in the field by our partners (NGOs, journalists, whistleblowers, etc.) and has shown that the current legal landscape is not fit to fight impunity. Our experience and observations allow us to develop ambitious legislative proposals to meet the challenges of our century. Thus, our actions aim to change the law in order to contain climate change, combat resource grabbing, strengthen democratic debate, and allow for the emergence of new societal models, more respectful of human rights.

On this website, discover an overview of the Handbook through 5 key themes.

Each page of the website allows you to explore one of the major challenges in the fight against multinational impunity, with a description of the key issues, videos, and summaries of our proposals!

Sherpa is a non-profit association, founded in 2001.

Sherpa brings together advocates, lawyers, and experts who use the law as a tool to combat new forms of impunity linked to the globalization of economic and financial exchanges, and to defend victims of economic crimes.

As such, Sherpa has brought cases against multinational corporations for serious human rights and environmental violations in their global supply chains, as well as litigations against corporations for  involvement in international corruption schemes.

The four pillars of Sherpa's work are strategic litigation, advocacy, legal research and capacity building activities, which all aim to significantly change the legal framework in France, as well as at the European level and internationally.