International business and human rights: A research agenda

The insufficient level of protection afforded to human rights violations caused by business-related activities of multinational enterprises has recently begun to garner increased attention. On an intergovernmental level, the elaboration of an internationally binding treaty regulating the activities of transnational corporations is underway. States have also taken initiatives on a national level to reflect their commitment in implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In both respects, much work remains ahead. Against this background, a group of prominent lawyers have suggested the use of arbitration as an alternative venue for resolving business and human rights disputes. After a span over five years of concept elaboration, public consultation and drafting, the idea has materialised in the creation of the Hague Rules on Business and Human Rights Arbitration (the Hague Rules or Rules), which were officially launched on 12 December 2019. This paper aims to take stock of the proposed Rules and the context of their appearance and examine if arbitration is a suitable medium for resolving business-related human rights infringements. In doing so, it discusses the legal framework governing the confluence of business and human rights as well as the features which speak both in favor and against arbitration as a means of settling business-related human rights disputes. The provisions of the Hague Rules are addressed in detail, particularly where default rules where tailored to better respond to the needs of human rights disputes. The paper concludes with an assessment of arbitration’s potential to ensure protection and enforcement of human rights in international business and reflects whether the Rules are robust enough to empower victims in this endeavor.

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In Need of Meta-Governance: Business Networks of Transnational Governance

Israel Law Review ◽

10.1017/s0021223715000084 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 189-218 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Christian R Thauer

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Political Science ◽

Empirical Research ◽

Research Agenda ◽

Business Networks ◽

Transnational Governance ◽

Business And Human Rights ◽

Governance Networks

This article discusses empirical research in political science on the topics of business and human rights, and transnational governance networks. It argues that transnational governance networks confront norm clashes and power conflicts, which undermine their effectiveness and legitimacy. Transnational governance as a concept and approach to ordering is therefore in need of meta-governance, by which the article understands secondary rules and procedures – that is, institutional mechanisms that allow for the mitigation and resolution of these conflicts. However, the extent to which such meta-governance currently exists, its effectiveness, and the rules and procedures that may legitimately define meta-governance and its actors are still unknown. This article calls for a research agenda to investigate these unknowns, which combines normative-legal and empirical-political science perspectives on the nature, form, legitimacy and effects of meta-governance.

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Collective Responsibility and the Limits of Disclosure in Regulating Global Supply Chains

Deakin Law Review ◽

10.21153/dlr2018vol23no0art809 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 23 ◽

pp. 143-176 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Charlotte Villiers

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Supply Chains ◽

International Law ◽

International Business ◽

Collective Responsibility ◽

Company Law ◽

Global Supply Chains ◽

Human Rights Abuses ◽

Business And Human Rights ◽

Labour Exploitation

Global supply chains present major challenges for company law and corporate governance, nationally and internationally. Their increasing relevance in international business has led to a serious regulatory gap, especially in light of corporate involvement in human rights abuses, labour exploitation and environmental degradation. Alongside a number of international norms such as those expressed in the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, there has been a proliferation in domestic and international law of disclosure provisions, mandating greater transparency by companies in response to the problems caused by global supply chains. In this paper, however, it is argued that disclosure is not a sufficient answer to such problems. It is suggested that we should approach the problems with a different conceptualisation of supply chain structures. If we regard them as ‘global poverty chains’, such a perspective brings about a moral response — a recognition that we have a collective responsibility to eradicate the poverty and suffering caused by the chains. This response necessitates that transparency requirements be altered and accompanied by a regulatory framework that empowers victims of poverty to be able to escape it.

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Business, Human Rights and Peace: Linking the Academic Conversation

Business and Human Rights Journal ◽

10.1017/bhj.2020.5 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 221-240

Author(s):

John E. KATSOS

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Literature Review ◽

Research Agenda ◽

Joint Research ◽

Scholarly Community ◽

Business And Human Rights ◽

Starting Point ◽

Multidisciplinary Nature ◽

Similarities And Differences ◽

Business In Society

AbstractThe fields of business and human rights (BHR) and business for peace (B4P) have overlaps in how they view business in society and in their multidisciplinary nature. This paper seeks to build on the work of BHR scholars in connecting with the B4P scholarly community, to bridge the divide by explaining the elements of the B4P literature that might be of interest for BHR scholars, and to describe a joint research agenda for scholars in both fields. The paper begins with a literature review of the major assertions and findings of B4P on the role that business can and should play in enhancing peace. Similarities and differences in approach and theories between BHR and B4P are then noted. A common research agenda is proposed that BHR and B4P scholars may use as a starting point for broader collaboration.

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Human Rights, Emerging Markets, and International Business

The Oxford Handbook of Management in Emerging Markets ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190683948.013.39 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 372-398

Author(s):

Florian Wettstein

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Emerging Markets ◽

International Business ◽

Emerging Economies ◽

Corporate Responsibility ◽

Research Field ◽

Research Trends ◽

Business And Human Rights ◽

New Research ◽

Corporate Social

This chapter provides an introduction to business and human rights (BHR) as a new research field in the intersection of corporate responsibility and international business and specifically reflects on it through, and relates it to, an emerging economies perspective. It aims at outlining the basic contours of the BHR field, clarifying its underlying rationale, as well as providing an overview of some prevalent issues and delineating it from other related concepts such as, particularly, corporate social responsibility. The chapter concludes with a reflection on some key research trends and themes emerging from the BHR field, which may be of particular relevance to international business and emerging markets scholars.

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