International Corporate Legal Responsibility

This book provides a systematic and structured treatment of the responsibilities of corporations under the broad conception of international law emerging from these developments, gathered under the headings of environmental protection and sustainable development, international criminal law, corporate governance, labour standards, and human rights. Touching upon a variety of areas of law and legal process – including corporations law, tort law, criminal law, contract law, securities regulation, international trade, taxation, and accounting standards – the analysis emphasises the principal applicable international legal instruments and jurisprudence and the procedural mechanisms, processes, and fora by which corporations may be adjudged responsible. Each chapter goes on to identify practical considerations for corporations as well as for those who advise and manage them.

"At present, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for some may not be more than an attitude. Can it be more? What degree of commitment can we reasonably expect of corporations in the struggle to eradicate poverty, promote human rights, halt climate change and reverse ongoingenvironmental destruction? It is not a question of power; more than half of the worlds top 100 economies are corporations, not nation-states. Whatever can be done to "fix" the world's problems, corporations are in the best position to do [it]."--Back cover.

This book addresses one of the core challenges in the corporate social responsibility (or business and human rights) debate: how to ensure adequate access to remedy for victims of corporate abuses that infringe upon their human rights. However, ensuring access to remedy depends on a series of normative and judicial elements that become highly complex when disputes are transnational. In such cases, courts need to consider and apply different laws that relate to company governance, to determine the competent forum, to define which bodies of law to apply, and to ensure the adequate execution of judgments. The book also discusses how alternative methods of dispute settlement can relate to this topic, and the important role that private international law plays in access to remedy for corporate-related human rights abuses. This collection comprises 20 national reports from jurisdictions in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia, addressing the private international law aspects of corporate social responsibility. They provide an overview of the legal differences between geographical areas, and offer numerous examples of how states and their courts have resolved disputes involving private international law elements. The book draws two preliminary conclusions: that there is a need for a better understanding of the role that private international law plays in cases involving transnational elements, in order to better design transnational solutions to the issues posed by economic globalisation; and that the treaty negotiations on business and human rights in the United Nations could offer a forum to clarify and unify several of the elements that underpin transnational disputes involving corporate human rights abuses, which could also help to identify and bridge the existing gaps that limit effective access to remedy. Adopting a comparative approach, this book appeals to academics, lawyers, judges and legislators concerned with the issue of access to remedy and reparation for corporate abuses under the prism of private international law.

Current debate surrounding social responsibility has neglected to fully comprehend the important role of national private law in achieving socially responsible conduct in business.

What I liked in particular about the Handbook was that each chapter identified the issues within a theoretical context and then gave the historical perspective with an accurate account of the current legal position and set down clear markers on the issues likely to influence future developments in corporate responsibility. Phillip Taylor, The Barrister This book has drawn together a distinguished and international group of writers to provide a wide-ranging discussion of the responsibility of corporations to society in general, including discussion of the role of companies in promoting human rights, accomplishing sustainable development and restoring and keeping public trust . The contributors put calls for Corporate Social Responsibility into its legal framework and provide a wide range of possible solutions to perceived weaknesses in the law. The authors are to be congratulated for adhering to the editorial mandate to provide information in a succinct style which is comprehensible to the lay person as much as the well-informed . This work is an indispensable tool for anyone engaged in the globalisation debate. It gives valuable, international, multi-faceted insights on the current situation, on work-in-progress to create change and of the theoretical perspectives which inform both. Janet Dine, Queen Mary College, University of London, UK Finally a book that explores the legal considerations related to corporate responsibility, and does so from a global perspective with strong underpinnings of ethics. This book should prove a useful guide for those academics and managers interested in the historical and emerging legal framework that guides corporate decision making around responsibility. Sandra Waddock, Boston College, US This volume provides an invaluable collection of essays that consider diverse perspectives on the social responsibility of corporations. As such it provides a very satisfying and balanced combination of contributions that should be useful to any serious student either in practice or academe of the role of corporations in society. David Crowther, London Metropolitan University, UK The ever-important topic of corporate legal responsibility is deconstructed into many multifaceted components in this fascinating Handbook, which systematically examines each in turn and describes the contemporary legal position. The Research Handbook on Corporate Legal Responsibility considers general theory and basic concepts such as corporate legal personality, the doctrine of attribution, corporate governance and directors duties, and reviews the range of individuals to which corporations may be held responsible, particularly employees, suppliers, shareholders, stakeholders and women. The substantive grounds for corporate responsibility under civil and criminal law within the North American and Commonwealth jurisdictions are evaluated, and mechanisms of accountability such as novel regulatory processes (interactive regulation, codes of conduct and social reporting), risk management and the significant role of non-governmental organisations are identified. The thought-provoking chapters contained within this Handbook go on to present perspectives on topical international questions (corruption, labour standards, human rights, environmental protection and sustainable development) including an analysis of recent initiatives from several international organisations. Bringing together the work of around thirty leading academics, practitioners, campaigners and policymakers from North America, Europe and Australia, each chapter locates these issues within a theoretical context, giving an overview of its historical evolution, providing an accurate account of the current legal position and identifying policy issues likely to influence future developments.

The control of multinational corporations is an area of law that has attracted immense attention both at national and international level. In recognition of the importance of the subject matter, the United Nations Secretary General has appointed a special representative to work in this area. The book discusses the current trend by MNCs to self regulate by employing voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. Olufemi Amao argues that the CSR concept is insufficient to deal with externalities emanating from MNCs’ operations, including human rights violations. Amao maintains that for CSR to be effective, the law must engage with the concept. In particular, he examines how the law can be employed to achieve this goal. While noting that the control of MNCs involves regulation at the international level, it is argued that more emphasis needs to be placed on possibilities at home, in States and host States where there are stronger bases for the control of corporations. This book will be useful to academic scholars, students, policy makers in developing countries, UN, UN Agencies, the African Union and its agencies, the European Union and its agencies and other international policy makers.

This book challenges the separation between CSR and law. It also demonstrates that BRHR may be gradually separating from CSR through emphasis on state obligations. Authors from around the world discuss how businesses engage in CSR and human rights, and how governments and intergovernmental organisations may support business in taking responsibility

The 'corporate social responsibility' ('CSR') movement has been described as one of the most important social movements of our time. This book looks at what the CSR movement means for multinationals, for states and for international law. International law is often criticized for being too 'state-centred', and ill-equipped to deal with the challenges of globalization. However, drawing from many and varied examples of state, NGO and corporate practice, this 2006 book argues that, while international law has its limitations, it presents more opportunities for the CSR regulation of multinationals than many people assume. The main obstacles to better regulation are, therefore, not legal, but political.