On July 8, 2026, the French Court of Cassation decided to transfer the lawsuit filed by Ms. Tran To Nga against American chemical corporations that manufactured and supplied toxic chemicals to the US military for use in the Vietnam War to the General Assembly for consideration. This is the highest level of jurisdiction of the Court of Cassation, only convened for cases that raise legal issues of principled significance or require a consensus on the application of law. 
Ms. Tran To Nga and her supporters for her lawsuit. (Photo: VNA).
The decision was made after a review of Nga's appeal on June 16. Previously, the Evry Court (2021) and the Paris Court of Appeal (2024) both rejected the lawsuit on the grounds that the corporations being sued enjoyed immunity from jurisdiction, due to fulfilling contracts at the request of the US government during the war.
At the hearing, At the hearing, the representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Cassation requested the annulment of the Paris Court of Appeal's judgment, thereby allowing the court to consider Nga's claims. According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, the chemical corporations did not act in the name of the U.S. State but rather for their commercial interests, and therefore did not qualify for jurisdictional immunity.
In a decision published on July 8th, the Cassation judges stated that the case raised “a matter of principle” requiring consideration by the General Assembly to reach a unified understanding and application of the law. According to regulations, the General Assembly, comprising the Chief Justice of the Cassation and judges representing all specialised courts, is the highest judicial body of the Cassation with jurisdiction over particularly important cases.
Attorney Bertrand Repolt, one of the two lawyers defending Nga, believes that the transfer of the case to the General Assembly shows that the Court of Cassation considers this a matter of principle, particularly concerning the issue of immunity from jurisdiction. However, the proceedings could therefore be prolonged by another 6 to 12 months, he added.
In a statement issued the same day, Collectif Vietnam-Dioxine, the organization accompanying Nga in the lawsuit, expressed concern that the prolonged proceedings will further slow down her journey to seek justice. She is now 84 years old and her health is declining due to multiple illnesses – as well as that of millions of Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange.
However, the organization emphasized that the General Assembly's acceptance of the case reflects the exceptional historical and legal importance of the matter, and elevates the issue of jurisdictional immunity and the liability of multinational corporations for environmental consequences caused by war to the highest level of the French judicial system.
PV
