Preamble: Our Values, Our Mission, Our Vision

Intérêt à Agir aims to approach law as a common asset for a world that is just, united, and respectful of all living things. Its ambition is to contribute to the dynamics of economic and social transition driven by public institutions and civil society at the national, international, and particularly European levels.

Its mission is to empower civil society organisations, based on nuanced, contextualised, applicable, and realistic legal expertise, to undertake and carry out litigious actions in favour of social and environmental justice. In doing so, it envisions the improvement of existing law through its transformation.

Consequently, this Charter aims to establish the complete set of values and ethical rules to which Intérêt à Agir and its members adhere so that all actions taken in its name reflect its values, accomplish its mission, and realise its vision.

IAA reiterates and defines its values and mission so that its actions are continuously motivated and guided by them:

• Integrity, understood as resistance to all pressures
• Responsibility, understood as a duty towards future generations and living beings
• Rigour, understood as the demand for precision, accuracy, and exemplarity
• Openness, understood as respect for the plurality of representations, interests, and discourses
• Creativity, understood as the means to realise the law of tomorrow, the law as a common good

Article 1: Independence and Integrity

1.1 Intérêt à Agir asserts and nurtures its fundamental independence from any third party, partisan or not, such as national or international public institutions, independent or otherwise administrative authorities, political parties, public or private sector companies, and legal or natural persons.

1.2 Intérêt à Agir asserts and nurtures its independence in principle from any stance, whether partisan, scientific, or political, issued by any person, particularly those mentioned in 1.1. It aims to identify and refuse any external, hidden or concealed influence; such influences cannot be the subject of any lobbying, nor can its actions be assimilated to them.

1.3 Intérêt à Agir asserts and nurtures its independence in the implementation of its actions for reflection, production, and dissemination.

1.4 Intérêt à Agir does not preclude any meetings, exchanges, or collaborations a priori. IAA directs its strategic choices and actions in accordance with its mission, its purpose, and its values, notably its integrity. It refuses any exclusive relationship or partnership.

1.5 Intérêt à Agir ensures, when recruiting its members, their rigour and openness in the sense of its values to guarantee them for itself.

Article 2: Transparency and Authenticity

2.1 Intérêt à Agir organises itself for the greatest transparency in its operations and finances, as well as the greatest authenticity in its productions and actions.

2.2 Intérêt à Agir places general and budgetary steering powers in the hands of its Board of Directors.

2.3 Intérêt à Agir accepts no resources likely to compromise its independence or influence its work. In this sense, it forbids itself from receiving any direct or indirect quid pro quo that could not be assimilated to an operation compatible with their mission.

Intérêt à Agir makes its annual accounts, activity report, and financial report publicly available in accordance with Law No. 2003-709 of 1 August 2003 relating to patronage, associations, and foundations.