ECCHR, together with Civitas Maxima, ACAT-Switzerland, InterJust, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the International Apartheid Debt and Reparations Campaign (KEESA), and the law firm Peter & Moreau, has filed an amicus curiae brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in support of the plaintiffs-appellees in Kashef et al. v. BNP Paribas.
The case concerns a landmark October 2025 verdict, in which a federal jury in the Southern District of New York found BNP Paribas liable for assisting the Government of Sudan in committing human rights violations between 1997 and 2011 by facilitating banking transactions on its behalf. The first three plaintiffs in a class action brought on behalf of more than 20,000 Sudanese refugees in the United States were awarded close to $21 million in damages. BNP Paribas has appealed the judgment, arguing among other grounds that the Swiss law underpinning the verdict was misinterpreted and misapplied.
In May 2026, the Government of Switzerland filed its own amicus brief in support of BNP Paribas’ appeal, arguing that the bank’s conduct was lawful under Swiss civil, banking, and sanctions law.
Civitas Maxima’s brief, filed with the Court alongside its co-signatories, sets out a detailed account of the Swiss legal framework and argues that the Swiss Government’s position is too narrow. It shows that under Swiss law, participation in international crimes, including through their financing, is both unlawful and criminal, and that this framework has already been applied by Swiss courts and prosecutors, including in cases Civitas Maxima itself has brought. The brief further situates Switzerland within a broader European consensus of corporate accountability, and places the Swiss Government’s position in its historical and political context, arguing that it understates the efforts Switzerland has made in holding its financial sector to account.
“Financing international crimes is not a grey area under Swiss law, it is unlawful,” said Kristina Hon, Senior Legal Counsel, Civitas Maxima. “The victims of Sudan’s atrocities deserve to have these facts examined on their merits, not shielded by a selective reading of the law. We trust that our detailed amicus will provide the judges of the Second Circuit with a more holistic understanding of Swiss law and inform their deliberations.”
About the case
Kashef et al. v. BNP Paribas is currently before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The underlying claims relate to BNP Paribas’ role in facilitating financial transactions for the Government of Sudan during a period in which the Sudanese government committed mass killings, torture, rape and pillage against its own population. The case was decided at trial under Swiss law, as the transactions at issue were conducted through BNP Paribas’ Swiss subsidiary, based in Geneva.
Civitas Maxima’s Director, Alain Werner, has published an op-ed on the case in Swiss newspaper Le Temps.
Note: The press release was first published by Civitas Maxima on 31 August 2026.
