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IMPLEMENTING HUMAN RIGHTS DUE DILIGENCE THROUGH CORPORATE CIVIL LIABILITY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2020

Nicolas Bueno Open the ORCID record for Nicolas Bueno [Opens in a new window]  and
Claire Bright Open the ORCID record for Claire Bright [Opens in a new window]
Nicolas Bueno
Affiliation:
Senior Lecturer and Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Ambizione Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Law of the University of Zurich, nicolas.bueno@uzh.ch
Claire Bright
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, Nova School of Law, Lisbon, claire.bright@novalaw.unl.pt.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Since the adoption of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights the relationship between human rights due diligence (HRDD) and corporate liability has been a source of legal uncertainty. In order to clarify this relationship, this article compares and contrasts civil liability provisions aiming at implementing HRDD. It explains the legal liability mechanisms in the draft Treaty on Business and Human Rights and in domestic mandatory HRDD legislation and initiatives such as the French Duty of Vigilance Law and the Swiss Responsible Business Initiative. It compares these developments with the emerging case law on parent company and supply chain liability for human rights abuses. It explores the potentially perverse effects that certain civil liability provisions and court decisions might have on companies’ practices. Finally, it makes recommendations for the design of effective liability mechanisms to implement HRDD.

Keywords

human rightsbusiness and human rightshuman rights due diligencelegal liabilitymandatory due diligence legislationparent company liabilitysupply chain liabilitytreaty on business and human rightsUN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
Type
Articles
Information
International & Comparative Law Quarterly , Volume 69 , Issue 4 , October 2020 , pp. 789 - 818
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press for the British Institute of International and Comparative Law

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Footnotes

This paper has been presented at the Justice for Transnational Human Rights Violations Conference at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights (University of Oxford), at the 5th Annual Conference of the Global Business and Human Rights Scholars Association (University of Essex) and at the Research Workshop on Business and Human Rights (University of Geneva). The authors would like to thank the colleagues who organised these events and all participants for the enriching discussions. We are also grateful to the reviewers and to Professor Robert McCorquodale and Professor Sarah Dadush for their invaluable comments on earlier drafts.

References

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10 UN Guiding Principles, Principle 22 and commentary.

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13 UN Guiding Principles, Principle 19, commentary.

14 OHCHR Interpretative Guide (n 7) 19.

15 ibid 49 and 17, for further examples of each scenario; see also C Kaufmann, ‘Konzernverantwortungsinitiative: Grenzenlose Verantwortlichkeit?’ (2016) Swiss Review of Business and Financial Market Law 51 and N Bueno, ‘La responsabilité des entreprises de respecter les droits de l'homme: État de la pratique suisse’ (2017) Aktuelle Juristische Praxis 1016.

16 For the detail and steps to be taken before termination, UN Guiding Principles, Principle 19, commentary; OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, Ch II, commentary, para 22.

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18 UN Guiding Principles, Principle 3 and Commentary; J Ruggie, Letter of response to a public letter by Swiss business associations regarding their position on the Swiss Responsible Business Initiative (19 September 2019) <https://www.business-humanrights.org/sites/default/files/documents/19092019_Letter_John_Ruggie.pdf>.

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20 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 24 on State Obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Context of Business Activities, UN Doc E/C.12/GC/24 (23 June 2017) para 10.

21 ibid, para 33.

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23 UN Guiding Principles, Principle 12, commentary.

24 Ramasastry (n 1) 248; Bernaz (n 1) 8–9 or Schmid (n 19) 577–8.

25 UN Guiding Principles, Principle 17, commentary.

26 Bonnitcha and McCorquodale (n 1) 910; Fasterling, B and Demuijnck, G, ‘Human Rights in the Void? Due Diligence in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights’ (2013) 116 JBE 805–6Google Scholar.

27 UN Guiding Principles, Principle 17, commentary.

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29 ibid 264.

30 See also Bonnitcha and McCorquodale (n 1) 910, for a discussion.

31 OHCHR, Improving Accountability and Access to Remedy for Victims of Business-Related Human Rights Abuse, UN Doc A/HRC/32/19, Annexe: Guidance to Improve Corporate Accountability and Access to Judicial Remedy for Business-Related Human Rights Abuse (10 May 2016).

32 OHCHR, Improving Accountability and Access to Remedy for Victims of Business-Related Human Rights Abuse: Explanatory Notes for Guidance, UN Doc A/HRC/32/19/Add.1 (10 May 2016).

33 OHCHR (n 31) Policy objective 14.1.

34 ibid, Policy objective 12.3.

35 ibid, Policy objective 12.4.

36 OHCHR, Improving Accountability and Access to Remedy for Victims of Business-Related Human Rights Abuse: The Relevance of Human Rights Due Diligence to Determinations of Corporate Liability, UN Doc A/HRC/38/20/Add.2 (1 June 2018).

37 ibid, para 12.

38 Section IV.A.

39 OHCHR (n 36) para 12.

40 Section 7 of the UK Bribery Act 2010. See G LeBaron and A Rühmkorf, ‘Steering CSR Through Home Art Regulation: A Comparison of the Impact of the UK Bribery Act and Modern Slavery Act on Global Supply Chain Governance’ (2017) 8 Global Policy 15; I Pietropaoli et al., A UK Failure to Prevent Mechanism for Corporate Human Rights Harms (BIICL 2019) 48–55.

41 Decreto Legislativo 8 giugno 2001, n. 231, Disciplina della responsabilità amministrativa delle persone giuridiche, della società e delle associazioni anche prive di personalità giuridica, a norma dell'articolo 11 della legge 29 settembre 2000, n. 300. See Fédération International pour les droits humains (FIDH) et al., ‘Italian Legislative Decree No. 231/2001: A Model for Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence Legislations?’ (November 2019) <https://e6e968f2-1ede-4808-acd7-cc626067cbc4.filesusr.com/ugd/6c779a_d800c52c15444d74a4ee398a3472f64c.pdf>.

42 Section IV.B.

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44 Human Rights Council, Elaboration of an International Legally Binding Instrument on Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Respect to Human Rights, Resolution 26/9, UN Doc A/HR/RES/26/9 (14 July 2014).

45 OEIWG, Legally Binding Instrument to Regulate, in International Human Rights Law, the Activities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises: Zero Draft (16 July 2018), <https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/WGTransCorp/Session3/DraftLBI.pdf>. On the Zero Draft, see C Lopez, Towards an International Convention on Business and Human Rights (Part I) and (Part II), OpinioJuris (23 July 2019) <http://opiniojuris.org/2018/07/23/towards-an-international-convention-on-business-and-human-rights-part-i/>.

46 OEIWG (n 2).

47 Art 6(1) and (2) Second Revised Draft.

48 N Bernaz, Clearer, Stronger, Better? – Unpacking the 2019 Draft Business and Human Rights Treaty (19 July 2019) <http://rightsasusual.com/?p=1339>.

49 Art 9(2) Zero Draft.

50 Reference is, however, made in the Preamble.

51 See art 6(2)(a)–(d) Second Revised Draft.

52 Art 1(4) Second Revised Draft.

53 C Lopez, Legal Liability for Business Human Rights Abuses under the Revised Draft of a Treaty on Business and Human Rights, BHRJ Blog (11 September 2019) <https://www.cambridge.org/core/blog/2019/09/11/legal-liability-for-business-human-rights-abuses-under-the-revised-draft-of-a-treaty-on-business-and-human-rights/>.

54 Except for the list of criminal offences listed in art 8(9) of the Second Revised Draft. See also on the Revised Draft Márquez, D Iglesias, ‘Hacia la adopción de un tratado sobre empresas y derechos humanos: viejos debates, nuevas oportunidades’ (2019) 4 Deusto Journal of Human Rights 167Google Scholar, for further comments.

55 Art 8(1) Second Revised Draft.

56 Art 8(7) Second Revised Draft.

57 International Law Commission (ILC), Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflicts, UN Doc A/CN.4/L.937 (6 June 2019).

58 ILC, Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflicts by Marja Lehto, Special Rapporteur, A/CN.4/728 (27 March 2019) para 68.

59 ILC (n 57) Draft Principle 10.

60 Smit et al. (n 28) 181.

61 ILC (n 58) para 67.

62 Compare with the text of the former draft: ‘Parent companies are to be held responsible for ascertaining that their subsidiaries exercise due diligence’, ILC (n 58) para 104.

63 N Bueno, ‘Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence Legislation’ in H Ewing et al. (eds), Teaching Business and Human Rights Handbook (2019) <https://teachbhr.org/resources/teaching-bhr-handbook/mandatory-human-rights-due-diligence/>; N Bueno, ‘The Swiss Popular Initiative on Responsible Business: From Responsibility to Liability in Enneking, L et al. (eds), Accountability, International Business Operations and the Law (Routledge 2020) 249–50Google Scholar; C Bright, D Lica, A Marx and G Van Calster, Options for Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence in Belgium (Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies 2020) <https://ghum.kuleuven.be/ggs/publications/research_reports/options-for-mandatory-hr-due-diligence-in.pdf> 18.

64 UK Modern Slavery Act of 2015.

65 EU Directive 2014/95 of 22 October 2014 on disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings [2014] OJ 2014 L 330/1.

66 Macchi and Bright (n 22) 229.

67 EU Reg 995/2010 of 20 October 2010 laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market [2010] OJ L295/23.

68 EU Reg 2017/821 of 17 May 2017 on supply chain due diligence obligations for Union importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores, and gold originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas [2017] OJ L130/1; see Okowa, P, ‘The Pitfalls of Unilateral Legislation in International Law: Lessons from Conflict Minerals Legislation’ (2020) 69 ICLQ 685, for a detailed analysisCrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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70 Art 5 Dutch Child Labour Due Diligence Act.

71 Art 9 Dutch Child Labour Due Diligence Act.

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73 Smit et al. (n 28) 170.

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75 Art L.225-102-4(I) French Commercial Code.

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77 ibid 2.

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81 See for instance: formal notices sent to Total on 19 and 25 June 2019 respectively for allegedly failing to address its climate-related impacts in its vigilance plan; and for failing to identify and address the risks of adverse human rights impacts to local communities arising out of two oil-related projects in Uganda in its vigilance plan; formal notice sent to Teleperformance on 18 July 2019 in relation to issues concerning workers’ rights and freedom of association in its foreign operations, subsidiaries and supply chains; formal notice sent to EDF on 26 September 2019 for failing to address risks of adverse impacts on indigenous communities arising out of a wind farm project in the State of Oaxaca; formal notice sent to XPO Logistics Europe on 1 October 2019 for allegedly failing to meet the requirements of the law in relations to labour issues in its supply chain. See Bright et al. (n 63) 34.

82 Tribunal judiciaire de Nanterre, ord. réf. 30 janvier 2020, n° 19/02833.

83 See art L.225-102-5 Code du commerce français, which provides that ‘the author of any failure to comply with the [vigilance] duties shall be liable and obliged to compensate for the harm that due diligence would have permitted to avoid’. English translation provided by Respect International, <http://www.respect.international/french-corporate-duty-of-vigilance-law-english-translation/>.

84 S Brabant and E Savourey, ‘France's Corporate Duty of Vigilance Law: A Closer Look at the Penalties Faced by Companies (2017) 50 (supplément) Revue internationale de la compliance et de l’éthique des affaires 2; art 1240 and 1241 on fault liability should apply provided that the commercial code will be applicable in a transnational claim, which the law does not clarify, but seems logical from the purpose of such law; Bueno (n 63) 252, for a comment.

85 Brabant and Savourey (n 84) 2; Cossart, Chaplier and Beau de Lomenie (n 74) 321.

86 As it is the case in art 101a(2)(c) of the Swiss Constitution as proposed in the Swiss Responsible Initiative, see Section IV.B below.

87 Cossart, Chaplier and Beau de Lomenie (n 74) 321.

88 Brabant and Savourey (n 84) 2.

89 ibid 3.

90 Chancellerie fédérale, Initiative populaire fédérale ‘Entreprises responsables – pour protéger l’être humain et l'environnement’, <www.bk.admin.ch/ch/f/pore/vi/vis462t.html>, for the official text in French, German and Italian; Swiss Coalition for Corporate Justice, The Initiative Text with Explanations (2016) <https://corporatejustice.ch/about-the-initiative/>, for an unofficial English translation.

91 Bueno (n 63) 247.

92 Proposal art 101(2)(a) Swiss Constitution. See G Geisser, ‘Die Konzernverantwortungsinitiative: Darstellung, rechtliche Würdigung und mögliche Umsetzung’ (2017) PJA 955.

93 Swiss Coalition for Corporate Justice, Rapport explicatif de l'initiative populaire fédérale «Entreprises responsables: pour protéger l’être humain et l'environnement» <https://initiative-multinationales.ch/wp-content/uploads//2018/05/20170912_Erl%C3%A4uterungen-FR.pdf> 43.

94 C Kaufmann, ‘Konzernverantwotungsinitiative: Grenzlose Verantwortlichkeit’ (2016) Swiss Review of Financial Market Law 50, for other uncertainties.

95 Proposal art 101(2)(c) Swiss Constitution.

96 OHCHR (n 36) para 29.

97 Proposal art 101(2)(c) Swiss Constitution.

98 See (n 27).

99 Parlement suisse, Conseil national, 16.077 Droit de la société anonyme, dépliant Session d’été 2018, 204–13, <www.parlament.ch/centers/eparl/curia/2016/20160077/N11%20F.pdf>.

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102 Proposed art 365ter of the Swiss Criminal Code.

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112 ibid 114.

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115 ibid 115.

116 Chandler v Cape [2012] EWCA Civ 525.

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118 Chandler (n 116) para 80.

119 Venel v Areva, Tribunal des Affaires de Sécurité Sociale de Melun, 11 mai 2012, n° 10/00924, 6. On this case see for instance Bueno (n 117) 579; Bueno (n 11) 429.

120 Venel (n 119) 6 and 7.

121 Venel v Areva, Cour d'Appel de Paris, 24 Oct. 2013, no. 12/05650.

122 Choc v Hudbay Minerals Inc., 2013 ONSC 1414.

123 ibid, para 68.

124 ibid, para 69.

125 Eric Barizaa Dooh of Goi v. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Court of Appeal of The Hague (18 December 2015). See Bright, C, ‘Quelques réflexions à propos de l'affaire Shell aux Pays-Bas’ in Dubin, L et al. , L'entreprise multinationale et le droit international (Pedone 2016) 127Google Scholar.

126 Barizaa Dooh of Goi v Royal Dutch Shell (n 125) para 3.2.

127 Bright (n 113) 221.

128 Lungowe v Vedanta Resources plc [2019] UKSC 20.

129 ibid 61. See also L Green and D Hamer, ‘Corporate Responsibility for Human Rights Violations: UK Supreme Court Allows Zambian Communities to Pursue Civil Suit Against UK Domiciled Parent Company’ EJIL: Talk! (24 April 2019); D Palombo, ‘The Duty of Care of the Parent Company: A Comparison between French Law, UK Precedents and the Swiss Proposals’ BHRJ 1, 8.

130 M Croser et al., ‘Vedanta v Lungowe and Kiobel v Shell: The Implications for Parent Company Accountability’ (2020) 5 BHRJ (2020) 130, 133.

131 Lungowe v Vedanta (n 128) 53.

132 ibid, para 53.

133 R McCorquodale, ‘Parent Company Can Have a Duty of Care for Environmental and Human Rights Impacts: Vedanta v Lungowe’ BHRJ Blog (11 April 2019) <https://www.cambridge.org/core/blog/2019/04/11/parent-companies-can-have-a-duty-of-care-for-environmental-and-human-rights-impacts-vedanta-v-lungowe/>.

134 Lungowe v Vedanta (n 128) 56.

135 McCorquodale (n 133).

136 Macchi and Bright (n 66).

137 Terwindt, C et al. , ‘Value Chain Liability: Pushing the Boundaries of the Common Law?’ (2017) 8(3) JETL 261Google Scholar.

138 Das v George Weston Limited, 2017 ONSC 4129.

139 ibid, para 3.

140 ibid, para 529.

141 ibid, para 533.

142 Terwindt et al. (n 137) 276.

143 Wesche, F and Saage-Maaß, M, ‘Holding Companies Liable for Human Rights Abuses Related to Foreign Subsidiaries and Suppliers before German Civil Courts: Lessons from Jabir and Others v KiK’ (2016) 16 HRLR 373Google Scholar; European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), ‘Kik: Paying the Price for Clothing Production in South Asia’ <https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/kik-paying-the-price-for-clothing-production-in-south-asia/>.

144 Terwindt et al. (n 137) 277.

145 Wesche and Saage-Maaß (n 143) 373.

146 A Marx, C Bright and J Wouters, ‘Access to Legal Remedies for Victims of Corporate Human Rights Abuses in Third Countries’, Study requested by the European Parliament (March 2019) at 63.

147 Larsen, RK, ‘Foreign Direct Liability Claims in Sweden: Learning from Arica Victims KB v. Boliden Mineral AB?’ (2014) 83 NJIL 405Google Scholar.

148 Marx, Bright and Wouters (n 146) 49.

149 ibid 22.

150 Nevsun Resources Ltd. v Araya, 220 SCC 5 (CanLII).

151 Kadie Kalma v African Minerals Ltd [2020] EWCA Civ 144.

152 Caparo Industries plc v Dickman [1990] UKHL 2.

153 Kadie Kalma (n 151) 144.

154 ibid 147.

155 J Zerk, Corporate Liability for Gross Human Rights Abuses: Towards a Fairer and More Effective System of Domestic Law Remedies’ report prepared for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2014) 7.

156 A Yilmaz Vastardis, ‘Vedanta v. Lungowe Symposium: Potential Implications of the UKSC's Decision for Supply Chains Relationships’ Opinio Juris Blog (23 April 2019) <http://opiniojuris.org/2019/04/23/vedanta-v-lungowe-symposium-potential-implications-of-the-ukscs-decision-for-supply-chain-relationships/>.

157 Cassel, D, ‘Outlining the Case for a Common Law Duty of Care of Business to Exercise Human Rights Due Diligence’ (2016) 1 BHRJ 179Google Scholar.

158 Keynote Address by John Ruggie at the Conference ‘Business & Human Rights: Towards a Common Agenda for Action’ (December 2019) <https://shiftproject.org/resource/john-ruggie-keynote-finland2019/>.