Alternative Perspectives on International Responsibility for Human Rights Violations by Multinational Corporations

When establishing human rights violations committed by the state, should it be violation of internationally protected rights or constitutional rights, the violator is obliged to compensate for the harm caused. In the meantime, neither international sources, nor national legal acts and case law answer the question whether the obligation to compensate is exhausted by the compensation awarded in accordance with a decision of an international judicial body or such a payment has punitive nature, and the state keeps the obligation to compensate the damage within the frameworks of national proceedings. Following the first part of opening remarks the second part of the article studies universal international law approach towards the state obligation to compensate for human rights violations, it reviews positions of the International Court of Justice, the model established in international customary law of international responsibility. The third part discusses the compensation mechanism of the European Court of Human Rights and a number of cases where the Russian Federation was the respondent state. The forth part considers national regulation of the Council of Europe states and case law thereof. The author argues that the established international case law in respect of awarding compensations for human rights violations is too restrictive – it does not take into account a complex nature of this phenomenon which includes both correction of the individual applicant situation (restitution of the pre-existed situation) and prevention of similar situations in the future. It is concluded that awarding the compensation by an international body primarily constitutes a measure of international responsibility whereas consideration by a national court is a more effective means of restitution of the applicants rights and that the national court shall not deny consideration of applicants claims due to the fact that they have already been awarded compensation by the international judicial body including the European Court of Human Rights.

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Accountability of multinational corporations for human rights violations in investment regimes in Africa

African perspectives in international investment law ◽

10.7765/9781526151285.00012 ◽

2020 ◽

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Multinational Corporations ◽

Human Rights Violations

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3. Human Rights in International Relations

Human Rights: Politics and Practice ◽

10.1093/hepl/9780198708766.003.0004 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Tim Dunne ◽

Marianne Hanson

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Relations ◽

Two Dimensions ◽

State Sovereignty ◽

Human Rights Violations ◽

Human Rights Abuses ◽

International Responsibility ◽

Duty To Protect ◽

Theoretical Issues

This chapter examines the role of human rights in international relations. It first considers the theoretical issues and context that are relevant to the link between human rights and the discipline of international relations, focusing on such concepts as realism, liberalism, and constructivism. It then explores key controversies over human rights as understood in international relations as a field of study: one is the question of state sovereignty; another is the mismatch between the importance attached to human rights at the declaratory level and the prevalence of human rights abuses in reality. The chapter also discusses two dimensions of international responsibility: the duty to protect their citizens that is incumbent on all states in light of their obligations under the various human rights covenants; and the duty of states to act as humanitarian rescuers in instances where a state is collapsing or a regime is committing gross human rights violations.

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Human Rights Violations before International Tribunals: Reflections onResponsibility of International Organizations

Leiden Journal of International Law ◽

10.1017/s0922156507004281 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 613-636 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

GUIDO ACQUAVIVA

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Law ◽

International Organizations ◽

Ad Hoc ◽

Parent Body ◽

Human Rights Violations ◽

Parallel Processes ◽

Un Security Council ◽

International Responsibility ◽

International Law Commission

The UN Security Council, as ‘parent body’ of the two ad hoc Tribunals, never introduced explicit rules on how to compensate accused persons for violations of their rights imputable to the Tribunals' organs. Notwithstanding the absence of such rules, a series of decisions by ICTYand ICTR chambers show the willingness of these institutions to address such violations when they occur. In doing so, the Tribunals appear to have followed some of the same principles on responsibility of international organizations as are being elaborated by the International Law Commission (ILC). By analysing these parallel processes, the author suggests that the elaboration of rules by the ad hoc Tribunals in the field of human rights violations and the codification by the ILC of rules on international responsibility, although distinct in aim and scope, might mutually benefit each other andshed some light on the difficulties of applying such principles in practice.

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