scholarly journals The Concept of Business and Human Rights in the Context of Current Global Trends

2021 ◽  
pp. 48-63
Author(s):  
Hanna Hulievska ◽  
Liudmyla Adashys
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
International Regulation ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Business Entities ◽  
Legal Forms ◽  
Human Rights Standards ◽  
The Impact

The article is devoted to the concepts of business and human rights in metamodernism era (postpostmodern), when the contradictory processes of globalization and glocalization of economical and legal relations simultaneously create new opportunities and challenge the actuality and effectiveness of legal mechanisms of promotion of human rights in business field.It is emphasized that despite some progress in promoting the concept of business and human rights,the question whether international and national law is able to oblige businesses to sustain humanrights remains relevant. It is determined that the concept of business and human rights is based onthe categories of public interest, which is realized and taken into account by voluntary commitmentand implementation of relevant obligations of business entities and positive obligations of the statein the field of human rights. The article analyzes political and economic global trends and challenges which influence theconcept of business and human rights. Increasing asymmetry and inequality, changes in the systemof international economic institutions, especially financial, development of digital technologies,contradictory processes of integration and disintegration, expansion of illegal business and migration,the phenomenon of “Black Swans,” global economic crises and the covid -19 pandemic areprompting the necessity to provide sustainable development and social responsibility to business.Emphasis is placed on raising the level of awareness of business about the necessity and expediencyof observing human rights standards not only for ethical reasons, but also as a means of improvingtheir own success and competitiveness.The article also examines the main trends in the development of law which occur under the influenceof globalization and the demand for a new social contract, such as socialization, anthropologizationand ecologization of law, increasing the impact of crises, conflicts, pandemics on the content of law,expanding the scope and range of legal issues. changing the ratio of international and national legalregulation, changes in the subject area, raising the topics of non-state and global law, convergenceof public and private, changes in the system of sources of international law, blending of legal andnon-legal forms of regulation.It is emphasized that one of the trends in the development of international regulation of businessresponsibility in the field of human rights is the demand for more “strict” legal regulation, but thequestion is the realism and effectiveness of “strengthening” the legal force of international acts aboutbusiness responsibility in the field of human rights.The opinion on its own regulatory value of norms of soft law in the given sphere is expressed.

Human Rights and the Mediatization of International Law

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 507-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
DANIEL JOYCE
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
New Media ◽  
International Law ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
International Regulation ◽  
The Media ◽  
Legal Forms ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Communicative Capitalism ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis article considers the relationship of international law and the media through the prism of human rights. In the first section the international regulation of the media is examined and visions of good, bad, and new media emerge. In the second section, the enquiry is reversed and the article explores the ways in which the media is shaping international legal forms and processes in the field of human rights. This is termed the ‘mediatization of international law’. Yet despite hopes for new media and the Internet to transform international law, the theoretical work of Jodi Dean warns of the danger to democracy of commodification through the spread of ‘communicative capitalism’.

scholarly journals Public Morality as a Legitimate Aim to Limit Rights and Freedoms in the National and International Legal Order

2019 ◽  
pp. 10-20
Author(s):  
Anna Młynarska-Sobaczewska ◽  
Katarzyna Kubuj ◽  
Aleksandra Mężykowska
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Moral Issues ◽  
National Courts ◽  
European Court ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
International Legal Order ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Standards ◽  
The Impact

Domestic legislation and international instruments designed for the protection of human rights provide for general clauses allowing limitations of rights and freedoms, e.g. public morals. A preliminary analysis of the case-law leads to the observation that both national courts and the European Court of Human Rights, when dealing with cases concerning sensitive moral issues, introduce varied argumentation methods allowing them to avoid making direct moral judgments and relying on the legitimate aim of protecting morality. In the article the Authors analyse selected judicial rulings in which moral issues may have played an important role. The scrutiny is done in order to identify and briefly discuss some examples of ways of argumentation used in the area under discussion by domestic and international courts. The identification of the courts’ methods of reasoning enables us in turn to make a preliminary assessment of the real role that the morality plays in the interpretation of human rights standards. It also constitutes a starting point for further consideration of the impact of ideological and cultural connotations on moral judgments, and on the establishment of a common moral standard to be applied in cases in which restriction on human rights and freedoms are considered.

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.

The Role of Non-Governmental Organizations in the Business and Human Rights Treaty Negotiations

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Bernaz ◽  
Irene Pietropaoli
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Working Group ◽  
Corporate Accountability ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Treaty Negotiations ◽  
Global Movement ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn June 2014, the UN Human Rights Council established an intergovernmental working group to elaborate a treaty on business and human rights. In July 2015, the working group held its first session launching the negotiations process—the culmination of a global movement of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that over the last four decades have called for greater corporate accountability for human rights violations. The advocacy activities of the Treaty Alliance, an alliance of NGOs that supports the development of the treaty, were pivotal to the tabling of the resolution establishing the working group. These organizations now have the opportunity to engage with the negotiations process, both formally and informally, through consultations, advocacy, and lobbying. This article considers the impact NGOs may have in the drafting negotiations of the proposed treaty. It identifies several lobbying and advocacy strategies that were successful in previous international law-making processes and discusses the extent to which they could be applied to the current negotiations. It presents the benefits of an NGO coalition, of formal and informal lobbying strategies, and of the development of a common NGOs and friendly states framework. It analyses the reasons for Western states’ opposition and suggests lobbying strategies that may overcome it. Recognizing the unique subject matter of this treaty, it also focuses on lobbying corporate actors, and explores the complementarity between the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the treaty and the need for NGOs to support both. The article concludes on the necessity to compromise on essential points if a treaty is ever to emerge.

scholarly journals The past, the present and the future of accounting for human rights

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 526-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken McPhail ◽  
John Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
The Other ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Policy Domain ◽  
Guiding Principles ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss a number of important recent developments in the area of business and human rights and considers the impact of these developments for accounting, assurance and reporting. Following the UN endorsement of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (the Guiding Principles) in June 2011, initiatives related to their implementation have advanced at a rapid pace. Despite the centrality of accounting, assurance and reporting to some of the key initiates – accounting research has, hitherto, lagged behind this growing momentum. In order to address this lacunae, this paper develops an agenda for future research in the area of accounting and human rights. In doing so, the paper provides an overview of the important contributions advanced by the other papers in this special issue of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal (AAAJ). Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws together and identifies key issues and themes related to the rapidly evolving research and policy domain of business and human rights and considers the relevance of these issues to accounting research. Findings – The paper highlights the wide-ranging impact the Guiding Principles and other developments in business and human rights have for accounting practice and draws attention to potential areas of research for accounting scholars. In particular, the paper highlights the emergence of business and human rights due diligence requirements, including their management and reporting. Further, the paper draws attention to the development of business and human rights reporting and assurance practice – which, while still in its infancy, has gathered considerable momentum and support. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides important insights into emerging issues and developments in business and human rights that have clear relevance to accounting research and practice. Originality/value – This paper, and the other contributions to this special issue of AAAJ, provide a basis and a research agenda for accounting scholars seeking to undertake research in this significant and emerging field.

scholarly journals Cultural Relativity, Human Rights and the International Regulation of Broadcasting

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Andrew Robert Jack
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
High Definition ◽  
International Regulation ◽  
Cultural Relativity ◽  
International Broadcasting ◽  
The Impact

<p>When a broadcaster broadcasts directly to people living in another state disputes can arise. The audience may find the programmes offensive. The programmes may foment disorder and rebellion and corrupt the values and traditions of the inhabitants of the receiving state or even threaten their very survival. The problem is not new. It has been a source of international tension since the inception of broadcast technology. The problem has however become more pointed as that technology has become ever more sophisticated. The power of radio is aptly illustrated by recalling the panic caused in 1938 by Orson Welles' famous hoax broadcast announcing the invasion of Earth by Martians. More recently commentators such as James Miles, BBC correspondent in Peking at the time, have suggested that the rebellion in China before and after the massacre at Tianamen Square was fomented, prolonged and to a degree coordinated by programmes broadcast on overseas radio stations such as Voice of America and the BBC. Television has a much greater graphic capacity than radio and is also vulnerable to abusive techniques such as subliminal suggestion and advertising. The impact of television is set for another great leap ahead as the development of High Definition Television technology proceeds apace. The development of communications satellites has greatly increased the range and quality of broadcasts. There have been a number of attempts to address this problem but none have met with much success. The international community has polarised into two camps, one taking a position based on a very strict view of the right to freedom of expression, and the other insisting that that right yield to a degree at least to accommodate peoples' rights to determine their own economic, social and cultural development. This paper offers a solution to this impasse. It offers guidelines to help resolve international broadcasting disputes. The guidelines are based on the international human right to freedom of expression as viewed particularly by the two bodies responsible for drafting that right's most famous exposition in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the host of other international and constitutional instruments which it inspired. It is argued that cultural relativity in the human rights context is consistent with the sources of international law specified in article 38 of the statue of the International Court of Justice, and that by incorporating a degree of cultural relativity the guidelines advocated herein are similarly consistent with current international law. It is also shown that the view of human rights the guidelines evince is consistent with a version of constructivist human rights theory which accords with observable practice and which enjoys widespread academic support. Some alternative methods for addressing the problem arising from international broadcasting are examined and their shortcomings identified. This leads to the conclusion that the method proposed in this paper for regulating international broadcasting, notwithstanding that it is most surely within the realm of de lege ferenda, is both consistent with current international law and jurisprudentially defensible, and therefore better than the alternatives.</p>

scholarly journals Epidemics, genome editing and human rights

2021 ◽  
pp. 199-209
Author(s):  
Branislav Fabry
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Genome Editing ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Western World ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Treatment ◽  
The Impact

The article deals with the contemporary legal and ethical challenges, caused by coronavirus COVID-19. It analyses the reason why the western world was so much surprized by that pandemics. The text mentions the succeses of western medicine in the battle against epidemics in the 20th century and sees it as one of the reason for underestimating the public health issues in 21st century. The article also emphasizes on other contemporary threat, the antimicrobiotic resistance and the need for new legal answers to pandemics. It deals with problem of human genome editing as the central topic by creating of hereditary immunity against new viral threats. The text also mentions the risks of such new treatment and the impact on human dignity that is understood as leading value in the contemporary legal regulation on biotechnology.

scholarly journals Konvencijas par uzņēmējdarbību un cilvēktiesībām nepieciešamība

2021 ◽  
pp. 97-103
Author(s):  
Mārtiņš Birģelis ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Working Group ◽  
Transnational Corporations ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Council ◽  
The Impact

The current legal framework does not properly address the impact that transna­tional corporations have on human rights. In 2014, the UN Human Rights Council established an open-ended intergovernmental working group with a mandate to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate the activities of transnational corporations and other business enter­prises. Yet this decision was strongly contested. This article outlines the main arguments for desirability of an international treaty on business and human rights and provides a response to some of the most common objections raised against the development of such legally binding instrument.

scholarly journals Beyond the Governance Gap: Accountability in Privatized Migration Control

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 487-505
Author(s):  
Daria Davitti
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Home State ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Business Operations ◽  
Migration Control ◽  
Human Rights Standards ◽  
Security Companies

AbstractThis Article focuses on the accountability challenges raised by the increased involvement of Private Military and Security Companies (PMSC) in migration control. I argue that migration control activities outsourced to PMSC can be classified as high-risk operations for the purposes of the application of relevant business and human rights standards. This reclassification of migration control activities as high-risk business operations, in turn, has two significant implications in terms of establishing accountability for PMSC’s wrongful conduct. First, it acknowledges that the privatization of migration control, especially within the context of continued containment and deterrence trends, entails a high risk of human rights abuses to which PMSC may contribute, both directly and indirectly. Second, this reclassification enables us to identify heightened obligations vested upon the home state of a PMSC, as well as the heightened responsibility of PMSC themselves. The article also examines what these heightened obligations and responsibilities entail.

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