The corporate responsibility to respect human rights: soft law or not law?

2013 ◽  
pp. 138-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justine Nolan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Corporate Responsibility ◽  
Soft Law

Establishing a Corporate Responsibility Ombudsman: Enhancing remedy through state-based non-judicial mechanisms?

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-122
Author(s):  
Juho Saloranta
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Corporate Responsibility ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Export Credit ◽  
Due Diligence ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Credit Financing ◽  
Human Rights Due Diligence

This article assesses the efficiency of non-judicial grievance mechanisms in providing victims of corporate human rights violations with improved access to remedy. As no such mechanism is currently available, this article formulates a proposal for a new mechanism in the form of a corporate responsibility ombudsman, which would offer a great deal of flexibility as well as being an inexpensive, expeditious and informal manner of dealing with such issues. The article argues in favour of utilizing states’ regulatory arsenal to improve victims’ access to remedy extraterritorially. Based on recent international developments, I elaborate approaches to human rights due diligence regulation and export credit financing by means of two corporate responsibility ombudsman proposals. In relation to these proposals, I divide the effectiveness criteria of Principle 31 of the United Nations Guiding Principles into three main categories: empowerment, investigation and enforcement. Since obtaining sufficient evidence is of paramount to those seeking remedies for violations of corporate responsibility, states should bestow quasi-judicial powers on corporate responsibility ombudsmen to achieve efficiency, which could also create legitimacy. This article provides decision-makers and scholars with insights into how access to remedy could be synchronized with the momentum of human rights due diligence legislation in the European Union and beyond.

The Accountability of Multinational Companies for Human Rights Violations, Regulatory Trends and New Punitive Approaches Across Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-62
Author(s):  
Rossella Sabia
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Multinational Companies ◽  
Financial Disclosure ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
Disclosure Laws ◽  
Global Operations ◽  
Regulatory Trends

This article investigates the emergence of new regulatory trends in the context of human rights accountability - traditionally characterised by soft law and non-binding guidelines -, where in recent times mandatory non-financial disclosure laws have started to impose on multinational companies new legal obligations complemented by sanctions of a different nature and intensity. By comparing three relevant pieces of legislation in the European panorama, this contribution addresses the reasons why also criminal law scholars should pay attention to the evolution of such regulatory framework, as the prospect of punitive mechanisms aimed at holding large companies accountable for human rights violations in their global operations could become, to some extent, less remote.

scholarly journals The Appeal to Human Rights in Arbitration and International Investment Agreements

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leyda Sughei Castillo
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Investment ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
International Investment Agreements ◽  
Investment Agreements

Este artículo estudia las relaciones entre DH, soft law e instrumentos de Inversión extranjera, así como entre DH y arbitrajes de inversión. El artículo comprende dos escenarios. Bajo el primero, abordo el impacto sobre las ETN de la incorporación del soft law en los AII. Bajo el segundo, el artículo refleja que el recurso indirecto por parte de los estados y el inversor a un lenguaje de los DH en los arbitrajes de inversión, puede tener un doble propósito: por un lado, empodera a los inversores extranjeros haciendo más visible su situación de debilidad frente al estado. Del otro, la remisión hecha por los estados propone un cambio en la lógica de los arbitrajes de inversión: el carácter proteccionista de los TBIs se ve cuestionado por la protección a intereses públicos protegidos por los estados, como los derechos de las minorías.

scholarly journals “Regardless of their sex” or “biological differences”. An analysis of the European Court of Human Rights’ case law on women in prison

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 1275-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Ciuffoletti
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Incarcerated Women ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Relevant Issue ◽  
European Court ◽  
Women In Prison ◽  
Biological Differences ◽  
Critical Aspects

Abstract In recent years, a growing attention for the specificities of female detention has spurred the adoption of a consolidated corpus of international soft-law tools, as well as reports on the conditions of incarcerated women. This momentum has not been paralleled by court decisions focusing on gender as a key issue in determining potential violations to prisoners’ rights, neither at a domestic nor at an international level. The paper will explore the gap between said legislation and policies and their implementation, particularly focusing on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. The perspective adopted by this Court in interpreting the gender specificities of women in prison seems to be uncritically grounded in the vulnerability paradigm and the protection of motherhood. We will attempt to decode this normative ideology and to read it in context, and in comparison with the consolidated case law of the Court on the legal notion of vulnerability in prison, as well as with its case law on gender topics and the prohibition of discrimination. The analysis will highlight the most critical aspects of the traditional interpretation of gender equality in prison, as well the need to reconsider gender as a relevant issue in the protection of prisoners’ rights.

scholarly journals BALANCING SOFT AND HARD LAW FOR BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 961-986 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barnali Choudhury
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Hard Law ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn the wake of increasing corporate disasters, there has been an urgent need to address the impact of business on human rights. Yet business responsibilities for human rights are mainly voluntary and best understood as ‘soft law’. Recently, however, States have begun negotiations for an internationally binding treaty in this area, suggesting that there is a need to turn to ‘hard law’ to increase the efficacy of business and human rights (BHR) initiatives. This article argues that because soft and hard law concepts are not dichotomous, BHR governance need not become ‘hard law’ to be effective. Rather ‘hardened’ soft law instruments can be equally effective.

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