Accountability And Corporate Human Rights Violations In Tort And International Law

This volume identifies a coherent legal principle in order to establish a novel duty of care for corporate human rights violations and environmental damages. It examines whether tort and civil law offer better accountability and remedies for victims of corporate human rights abuses, and carries out an in-depth and critical analysis of the concept of corporate accountability. Moreover, a fundamental part of this book is devoted to examining the extent to which international criminal law influences international human rights law in its use of tort law and civil law remedies. Finally, the book sets out a theoretical mechanism for duty of care, as well as a proposal for the establishment of a ‘Hybrid International Transnational Corporation Court’ that would have the potential to effectively interpret the concept of the corporate duty of care under tort law.

This book develops an analysis of the historical, political and legal contexts behind current demands by NGOs and the United Nations Human Rights Council to hold corporations accountable for their human rights violations. Based on an analysis of the range of mechanisms of accountability that currently exist, it argues that that those demands are a response to the failure of neo-liberal policies that have dominated the practice of politics and law since the emergence of this debate in its current form in the 1970s. Offering a new approach to understanding how struggles for hegemony are refracted through a range of legal challenges to corporate human rights violations, the book offers a fresh perspective for understanding how those struggles are played out in the global sphere. In order to analyse the prospects for using human rights law to challenge the right of corporations to author human rights violations, the book explores the development of a range of political initiatives in the UN, the uses of tort law in domestic courts, and the uses of human rights law at the European Court of Human Rights and at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. This book will be essential reading for all those interested in how international institutions and NGOs are both shaping and being shaped by global struggles against corporate power.

This volume identifies a coherent legal principle in order to establish a novel duty of care for corporate human rights violations and environmental damages. It examines whether tort and civil law offer better accountability and remedies for victims of corporate human rights abuses, and carries out an in-depth and critical analysis of the concept of corporate accountability. Moreover, a fundamental part of this book is devoted to examining the extent to which international criminal law influences international human rights law in its use of tort law and civil law remedies. Finally, the book sets out a theoretical mechanism for duty of care, as well as a proposal for the establishment of a 'Hybrid International Transnational Corporation Court' that would have the potential to effectively interpret the concept of the corporate duty of care under tort law.

A consensus has emerged that corporations have societal and environmental responsibilities when operating transnationally. However, how exactly corporations can be held legally accountable for their transgressions, if at all, is less clear. This volume inquires how regulatory tools stemming from international law, public law, and private law may or may not be used for transnational corporate accountability purposes. Attention is devoted to applicable standards of liability, institutional and jurisdictional issues, and practical challenges, with a focus on ways to improve the existing legal status quo. In addition, there is consideration of the extent to which non-legal regulatory instruments may complement or provide more viable alternatives to these legal mechanisms. The book combines legaldoctrinal approaches with comparative, interdisciplinary, and policy insights with the dual aim of furthering the legal scholarly debate on these issues and enabling higher quality decision-making by policymakers seeking to implement regulatory measures that enhance corporate accountability in this context. Through its study of contemporary developments in legislation and case law, it provides a timely and important contribution to the scholarly and sociopolitical debate in the fastevolving field of international corporate social responsibility and accountability.

Business corporations can and do violate human rights all over the world, and they are often not held to account. Emblematic cases and situations such as the state of the Niger Delta and the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory are examples of corporate human rights abuses which are not adequately prevented and remedied. Business and human rights as a field seeks to enhance the accountability of business – companies and businesspeople – in the human rights area, or, to phrase it differently, to bridge the accountability gap. Bridging the accountability gap is to be understood as both setting standards and holding corporations and businesspeople to account if violations occur. Adopting a legal perspective, this book presents the ways in which this dual undertaking has been and could be further carried out in the future, and evaluates the extent to which the various initiatives in the field bridge the corporate accountability gap. It looks at the historical background of the field of business and human rights, and examines salient periods, events and cases. The book then goes on to explore the relevance of international human rights law and international criminal law for global business. International soft law and policy initiatives which have blossomed in recent years are evaluated along with private modes of regulation. The book also examines how domestic law, especially the domestic law of multinational companies’ home countries, can be used to prevent and redress corporate related human rights violations.

This account of business-related human rights violations details the barriers victims face when seeking remedies and offers policy solutions.

The global business environment has changed rapidly in the past decades, but the human rights and business discourse has often lagged behind. At the international level, hard law regulations still seem decades away. United Nations' initiatives - such as the Guiding Principles and the UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises - are more than a step in the right direction. However, they alone are insufficient to prevent violations and ensure victims receive justice. This book uses a broad and pluralistic understanding of direct human rights obligations, concentrating on legally enforceable standards. The enforceability can come directly from international law, through national legislation, or through non-state actors. The contributions engage both with the law as it is, as well as the law as it needs to be developed. The book's approach allows for a clearer understanding of the global human rights framework, and the manner in which voluntary and binding initiatives can reinforce one another. By weaving together analysis on the current standards and practices with critical approaches, it allows scholars and practitioners to capture the complexity of holding businesses accountable for their human rights impacts. [Subject: International Law, Human Rights Law, Company Law]

Western societies are witnessing an emerging socio-legal trend towards transnational civil litigation against multinational corporations in relation to harm caused toward people and the planet. These 'foreign direct liability cases' arise against the background of a global governance gap resulting from the rapid globalization of economic actors and activities with no global institutions to manage their worldwide impacts. The increasing reliance on private law mechanisms to realize corporate accountability for violations of human rights, health and safety, and environmental and labor norms perpetrated around the globe raises interesting and complex issues. This study sets out the legal and socio-political framework of this particular type of transnational civil litigation. The book traces the role that Western systems of tort law may play in promoting international corporate social responsibility/accountability. It focuses on the feasibility of bringing foreign direct liability claims before domestic courts in the EU Member States - the Netherlands in particular - and sets out a number of recommendations for European policymakers.