Pro Bono

Addressing the trade in human beings

A cross office collaboration of Paris, Hanoi, London and Brussels have successfully represented some of the families of the “Essex 39”. On 23 October 2019, 39 Vietnamese women, men and children lost their lives in a trailer of an articulated refrigerator lorry in United Kingdom. The individuals had been transported across France and then into a trailer which had been shipped from the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium to Essex, UK. Most recently, the Paris team have attended Court each day to make oral pleadings to successfully secure civil damages on behalf of the bereaved families at the Paris Criminal Court.

The judgment in France follows a successful parallel proceeding in Belgium, in which the Court of Appeal of Ghent ruled that a damages award should be made in favour of a number of the victims. A team in London has also worked to ensure that asset confiscation and payment of reparations were respected.