Amazon Is at a Standstill in France. So Is the Legal System
Amazon Is at a Standstill in France. So Is the Legal System
(Bloomberg) --
Amazon.com Inc. is appealing a ruling that brought its French operations to a standstill but the high-profile lawsuit didn’t get much public scrutiny because the country’s legal system refuses to adapt to the coronavirus.
Just a few months ago, France’s Constitutional Court said the ban is warranted to ensure serene courtroom debates and to protect suspects’ privacy rights and the presumption of innocence. The constitutional judges feared that in the social-media era any such harm would be amplified.
Still, some are calling for a change. Paris lawyer Marion Lambert-Barret said an increased understanding of how courtrooms work is in everyone’s interest.
“The legal system should adapt while still being mindful of fundamental rights,” said Lambert-Barret, who specializes in criminal law. The current circumstances could be an opportunity “to take a great technological and psychological leap.”
Elsewhere, courts are starting to go digital. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would take the unprecedented step of hearing oral arguments by phone. A bail hearing for Julian Assange in the U.K. was held via conference call last month. Some German judges are pioneering a digital evolution by regularly holding video hearings.
The Amazon appeal comes after a French court ordered it last week to halt deliveries of non-essential items to protect its workers. The Silicon Valley e-commerce giant responded by stopping all orders and appealing. A ruling is due April 24.
In France, rather than using video conferencing tools, non-urgent court hearings have been postponed since mid-March when the lockdown started. The 1954 ban on filming or taping court cases provides only a few exceptions, such as grounds of historical interest as was the case in the trial of Nazi Klaus Barbie.
Only the country’s constitutional court allows all of its hearings to be streamed online.
There are only a few other marginal deviations from the non-digital norm.
Convicts who have appealed their sentence are able to attend hearings via video links to avoid transport from prison to courthouses. But that measure existed before the coronavirus pandemic. Judges and lawyers still have to attend in person.
Paris insolvency judges are starting to break new ground, allowing lawyers, judges and clerks to use video. But the press and public aren’t invited to participate and most cases are held in private to protect business secrets.
The Paris commercial court began hosting digital hearings at the start of April, hoping to allow staff at insolvent firms to benefit from France’s wage-guarantee program, said Nathalie Dostert, a vice president.
The commercial court uses videoconferencing software developed by a French company, Tixeo.
“We weren’t entirely convinced, despite what the Americans are saying, that Zoom met our expectations in terms of confidentiality for hearings,” Dostert said by phone.
Insolvency lawyer Guilhem Bremond says the success with video hearings might mean the system will “continue to be used in certain situations post-coronavirus.”
Coming Wave
For now, the commercial court is mostly dealing with run-of-the-mill cases of companies that were already in bad shape before the coronavirus hit, Dostert said, but is prepared for more work.
“Our backlog isn’t huge so we’re going to be able to get ready to take on the 20-meter wave that seems to be looming in the not-too-distant horizon,” Dostert said. She anticipates a peak of coronavirus-related cases starting in September.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.