ABSTRACT
Transnational business activities are important drivers of growth for developing and the least developed countries. However, they can also negatively impact the enjoyment of human rights. In some cases, multinational enterprises (MNEs) have even been accused of grave human rights abuses in the territory of the states where their subsidiaries operate. Since the parent companies of many MNEs are incorporated under the law of European states, those countries’ domestic law and the European legal framework play a crucial role in establishing how their activities should be conducted – also throughout their supply chains – and which remedies will be available when corporate human rights violations occur. In recent years, the European Union, the Council of Europe and their Member States have been adopting policies and legislation to ensure respect for human rights by businesses and have developed a body of related case law. These legal instruments can be considered the European responses to the challenges posed at international-law level, and they constitute the focus of research of this book. Through its collected chapters – written by scholars and practitioners under the direction of the editor, Angelica Bonfanti – the book identifies the European solutions to the business and human rights international legal issues, provides an overall assessment of their effectiveness, and examines their potential evolution.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter 3|11 pages
Managing Global Interdependencies through Law and Governance
part I|2 pages
The State Duty to Protect Human Rights
chapter 4|11 pages
Enforcing the State Duty to Protect under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
chapter 8|11 pages
National Action Plans
part II|2 pages
The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights
chapter 10|12 pages
Due Diligence, Reporting and Transparency in Supply Chains
chapter 11|11 pages
Blending Together Human Rights Due Diligence with ‘Criminal’ Law
chapter 12|12 pages
From Human Rights Due Diligence to Duty of Vigilance
chapter 13|12 pages
Corporate Human Rights Compliance and Disinvestment
chapter 14|11 pages
EU Approaches on ‘Conflict Minerals’
chapter 15|13 pages
ICT Companies’ Responsibility to Respect Human Rights
part III|2 pages
Access to Remedy in Europe