Transnational Corporations And Human Rights

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

Bringing together a diverse group of contributors, this collection addresses the impact of transnational corporations on human rights. Topics covered include corporate social responsibility; the impact of corporations on internal conflicts, and codes of conduct. Case studies range from the negative effects of the Nigerian oil industry to the positive engagement by a logging company with the Nuu-chah-nulth people in Canada. The book uniquely combines the discussion of conceptual issues with an in-depth examination of specific corporations and industries.

This volume offers a systematic overview of the different tools through which the human rights accountability of transnational corporations may be improved. It first examines the responsibility of States in controlling transnational corporations, emphasizing both the limits imposed by the protection of the rights of investors under investment treaties and the potential of the US Alien Tort Claims Act and other similar extra-territorial legislations. It then turns to self-regulation by transnational corporations, through the use of codes of conduct or international framework agreements. It then discusses recent attempts at the global level to improve the human rights accountability of corporations by the direct imposition on corporations of obligations under international law. Finally, it considers the use of public procurement policies or of conditionalities in the lending policies of multilateral lending institutions in order to incentivize TNCs to behave ethically. Altogether, the book offers a rigorous legal analysis of these different developments and critically appraises their potential.

This book examines ways of holding multinational corporations liable for offshore human rights abuses in the courts of the companies' home States.

What is the nature and scope of corporate responsibility with regard to human rights? Should companies themselves be responsible for human rights violations involving themselves or their subsidiaries? What principles should guide business in countries known to violate human rights? Is self-regulation sufficient, or are corporations best regulated by national or international codes, and on what should these codes be based? These are some of the many questions which this ground-breaking collection of essays seeks to address as it assesses the value of applying human rights standards to transnational corporations. The increasing involvement of corporations in the public domain and the steady reduction of governmental involvement in commercial and social undertakings has created a desperate need to rethink the nature and role of the private corporation and its regulation. This volume, which contains a balanced collection of analyses from all interested sources in the corporate responsibility debate, is the result of a three-day conference during which government officials, corporate executives, NGOs, and representatives of inter-governmental organisations, as well as academic researchers, came together for the first time to discuss the emerging issues. The essays have been arranged under six broad themes: policy issues, regulation, issues of application, matters of doctrine, globalisation and case studies. In addition, each section contains the opinion (not simply a summary of proceedings) of a nominated rapporteur who draws together the strands of each theme, and, where necessary, broadens the analysis to cover important issues which may not have been addressed. At the heart of this volume is the attempt to define an effective framework for transnational corporate responsibility through international human rights standards. It will be of vital interest to corporate legal advisers, human rights practitioners, NGOs, government law offices and academics, as well as to all those concerned with human rights and their place in the modern world.

The effects of globalisation, together with the increase in foreign investment and resource development within the developing world, have created a context for human rights abuses by States in which transnational corporations are complicit. This timely book considers how these ‘governance gaps’, as identified by Professor John Ruggie, may be closed. Simon Baughen examines the status of corporations under international law, the civil liability of corporations for their participation in international crimes and self-regulation through voluntary codes of conduct, such as the 2011 UN Guiding Principles.

An original analysis of which global actors are responsible for human rights in today's world and why.

This well-documented work will appeal to corporate leaders interested in understanding the related practicalities of international corporate liability as well as post-graduate students in international business and international policy studies. Policymakers, academics and researchers interested in a unique perspective on the future of the global corporation as an internationally responsible global citizen will find much to inte rest them in this book.