English
Moving towards equality in the composition of company boards and supervisory committees
Publié le 08-04-2011The law on equal representation of women and men on company boards and supervisory committees was passed by Parliament on January 27 2011.
Pointing out the inequality at the heart of the executive bodies of large French companies, the legislator has imposed the obligation, where either gender is not represented on the board or supervisory committee of a company with shares admitted for negotiation on a regulated market, that at least one representative of that missing gender must be appointed at the next ordinary general meeting at which appointments of board or supervisory committee members is on the agenda.
Moreover, and as far as listed companies are concerned, by 2014 each gender must account for no less than 20% of board or supervisory committee members, this proportion rising to 40% by 2017.
This 40% proportion will also be effective from 2020 for large companies counting at least 500 employees and achieving turnover or a balance sheet total of at least 50 million Euros.
In order to ensure that this legislation is applied, apart from rendering null and void nominations made in violation of the equality principle, the legislator has shown ingenuity in “hitting” attendance allowances, which will be suspended until the position has been adjusted.
More symbolic than revolutionary, this text has the merit of showing the path to be followed on the road to equality.
For more information: ocognard@harlaylaw.com
About Harlay Avocats:
Founded in 1988, Harlay Avocats (formerly named Kahn & Associés) is an independent law firm with a team of highly skilled lawyers who have a wide range of training and expertise enabling it to advise clients in France and internationally, for their business law needs.
The firm’s clients are French companies and multinational businesses primarily from the US, but also from all over Europe, Israel and China. Most clients are highly innovative businesses, which are in the following industry sectors: information technology, telecom, Internet, medias, luxury industry and life sciences.
Newsletter – Moving towards equality in the composition of company boards and supervisory committees
Publié le 04-04-2011Click here to download the newsletter
France: Adoption of decree on the retention of data by Internet service and hosting providers
Publié le 24-03-2011Click here to download the newsletter
France: Adoption of decree on the retention of data by Internet service and hosting providers
Publié leLaw no 2004-575 of June 21st 2004, on confidence in the digital economy, stipulates that any person or entity whose activity is to provide the public with access to online communication services (Internet service providers) and any
person or entity that hosts data provided by its users in order to make it available to the public through online communication services (hosting providers) shall retain data allowing the identification of any person who has contributed to the creation of online content using their services.
Pursuant to said law, the legal regime of this duty was to be determined at a later date by decree. More than seven years after the law for confidence in the digital economy was passed, decree no 2011-219 of February 25th 2011 on the retention and communication of data allowing the identification of any person contributing to the creation of online content has finally been adopted.
This decree lists the data that must be retained by Internet service providers and hosting providers and details the conditions of such retention. Internet service providers must now retain data relating to all client connections, contract signature, account creation or payment operation. Similarly, hosting providers must retain data relating to the creation, modification or deletion of content, contract signature, account creation or payment operation by a client.
The decree states that the data must be stored for a one-year period, the starting point being different for each category of data. For example, whereas data relating to account creation must be retained for a one-year period as from the termination date of the concerned account, data relating to the creation of content must be retained for a one-year period as from the creation date of the concerned content.
This data being of a personal nature, Internet service providers and hosting providers must respect the provisions of Law no 78-17 of January 6th 1978 on Data Processing, Data Files and Individual Liberties, and shall in particular ensure that the confidentiality and security of data is maintained.
The decree also details the conditions under which data shall be communicated in the event of an administrative request.
Finally, failure to retain data listed by the decree exposes the Internet service provider or hosting provider to a fine of 375 000 Euros, with managers punishable by a year’s imprisonment and a fine of 75 000 Euros.
For further details, please contact Fabrice Perbost at fperbost@harlaylaw.com or Sabine Lipovetsky at slipovetsky@harlaylaw.com.