Menschenrechte und transnationale Unternehmen

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Brune
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Good Position ◽  
Political Actor ◽  
The Public ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Transnational Companies ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Transnationale Unternehmen

What is the responsibility of corporations in terms of human rights? This question is of concern to academia, the public and also currently to businesses. The UN Framework for Business and Human Rights suggests that companies should respect human rights as much as possible in their business activities, while states are obliged to protect human rights. In practice, this theoretical division of labour leads to problems, in particular, in areas where institutional protection of human rights is not guaranteed, i.e. states do not fulfil their protection obligations. At the same time, due to globalisation-related developments, transnational companies are in a good position to negotiate with states, which makes them a kind of political actor. If these companies operate in contexts where human rights are not institutionally protected, does their responsibility go beyond respecting human rights?

Business and Human Rights – Recent Trends in Germany

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-72
Author(s):  
Marlen Vesper-Gräske
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Criminal Liability ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
The Public ◽  
Legislative Action ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Corporate Social

There is an undeniable, growing trend in the current Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) discussions: the responsibility of corporations to abide by and to protect human rights. This discussion includes potential criminal liability for corporations as well as their management for human rights violations. This article will survey the legal status quo of corporate responsibility in the context of human rights protection in Germany. It will then outline two drafts of legislation: a first draft leaked to the press in February 2019 that did not result in further legislative action, and a second draft recently leaked to the public that included key points for such a legislation to become the new German Human Rights Supply Chain Due Diligence Law.

National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights: Progress or Mirage?

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (02) ◽  
pp. 213-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Humberto CANTÚ RIVERA
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Action Plans ◽  
Policy Coherence ◽  
Effective Protection ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Phases Of Development ◽  
Key Policy

AbstractAs of October 2018, 21 states have adopted National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights (NAPs), with several more in different phases of development. This is an important political step to raise awareness of the importance of intragovernmental policy coherence and of the need to move forward to prevent human rights abuses linked to business activity. However, despite the global intergovernmental support to such policy strategies, the actual effectiveness of NAPs needs to be called into question: do they represent progress, or are they a mirage to block possible avenues of development? Currently existing NAPs have done little (yet) to ensure more effective protection in key policy areas, including trade and investment, state-owned enterprises, and particularly in relation to legislative developments and access to remedy. This contribution seeks to analyse the merits of developing NAPs, the importance of ensuring they become only the very first step towards a more effective protection of human rights, and to question whether their importance needs to be adjusted to what they really are: policy tools with limited effects and with a politically linked time frame.

scholarly journals Konstytucyjne aspekty procesu karnego w działalności Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-211
Author(s):  
Stanisław Trociuk
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Criminal Procedure ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Public Prosecution ◽  
The Public ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
The Individual

The changes in the broadly conceived criminal procedure which were introduced in recent years refer to the problems which are crucial from the perspective of the protection of human rights, such as the scope of the authority of the services due to operational control which is conducted secretly, the model of the functioning of the public prosecution service or the unlawful acquiring of evidence in a criminal procedure. The evaluation of these changes, conducted by the Ombudsman from the point of view of the constitutional standards of the protection of the rights of the individual is not positive. The new regulations reduce the quality of these standards and they do not contain sufficient guarantees of protection against the arbitrariness of the activities engaged in these terms by the organs of public authority. This phenomenon imposes a particular duty on the courts – which hear criminal cases – to see that the final decision in a criminal case respects the universal standards of the protection of human rights.

scholarly journals THE ROLE OF NATIONAL ACTION PLANS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS IN BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adel I. Abdullin ◽  
Alexey A. Sinyavskiy
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Transnational Corporations ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Action Plans ◽  
Legal Personality ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Guiding Principles ◽  
International Legal Personality

"Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights” are the first universally recognized global international standard in the field of human rights and business. In accordance with them, transnational corporations and other enterprises are obliged to comply with the national laws of states and respect internationally recognized human rights while carrying out their business activities. On 16 June 2011, the Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the Guidelines in its resolution 17/4, “Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Enterprises,” setting a universal standard for protecting human rights from the adverse effects of transnational corporations and other enterprises. However, in accordance with the doctrine of international law, corporations do not have an international legal personality and their obligations to respect human rights are only voluntary in nature, and therefore, the main obligation to ensure the protection of human rights lies with states. One of the ways to implement international standards in the field of business and human rights in practice is the development by States of National Action Plans. This paper is devoted, firstly, to a summary of the main ideas of the “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights” as an international legal standard in the field of human rights. Secondly, to consider the role of National Action Plans in the implementation of the Guidelines in EU countries. Thirdly, a review of existing practices for the implementation of these principles by EU states using National Action Plans

scholarly journals The Legal Framework for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Cameroon by Non-Governmental Organisations

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-45
Author(s):  
Alvine Longla Boma
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The State ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
The Right

Civil Society organisations play key roles in African countries. This is not an exception in the Cameroonian dispensation. Indeed, the existence and operation of civil societies in this jurisdiction is legitimated by a 1990 law allowing the free formation of associations. Even though the state has the primary obligation to promote and protect human rights, there also exists a plethora of associations with the same interest. This paper is motivated by the state’s wanton failure in ensuring the enjoyment and fulfilment of the right. For one thing, the state has maintained a stronghold on the Civil Society through legislation which gives public authorities a leverage over human rights defenders. Moreover, an analysis of existing legal and institutional frameworks available to allow human rights non-governmental organisations thrive, leaves much to be desired. Findings reveal that though there are adequate laws and institutions which ensure the creation and functioning of Civil Society organisations in Cameroon, there are also contradictory laws which give the public authority an edge over these organisations and allow them to sanction the activities of some human rights defenders under the guise of maintaining public order. We argue that there should be adequate protection offered to human rights defenders as well as the relaxation of laws permitting public authorities to illegally sanction the activities of relevant non-governmental organisations.

The protection and promotion of human-rights

2020 ◽  
pp. 384-398
Author(s):  
Irina Ichim
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
State Repression ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Face ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Government Propaganda ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Civic Space ◽  
Recent Government

This chapter explores developments in the protection of human-rights in Kenya post-2002 by examining three interconnected issues: changes in the social and political landscape and how these created or constrained opportunities for activism; changes in the relationship between the state and the human-rights sector, but also within the human-rights sector; and evolving patterns of (non-)state repression of activism. The chapter shows that, against the background of a complex historical experience, and with the help of Kenya’s 2010 Constitution and a reformed judiciary, the human-rights sector in Kenya has grown into a staunch and able defender of civic space in the face of recent government assaults. However, government propaganda and the sector’s institutionalization simultaneously coalesce to disconnect the sector from the public. Coupled with divisions between professional and grassroots defenders, this disconnect risks limiting the sector’s ability to build on the momentum presented by recent achievements.

Public Morals and the European Convention on Human Rights

2014 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Perrone
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
European Convention ◽  
The Public ◽  
General Clause ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
The Right

The protection of ‘morals’ appears frequently as a limitation on the exercise of fundamental rights, both in international covenants and in constitutional charters. The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights is not an exception, and ‘public morals’ may be called upon to justify the restriction of several important rights granted by the Convention, such as freedom of expression or the right to respect for private and family life. To avoid arbitrary restrictions of these rights it is important to understand the meaning of this general clause. This article aims to suggest a reading of the ‘public morals’ clause that singles out its scope and its boundaries.

scholarly journals The Expulsion of Resident Colombian Nationals during the Colombia-Venezuela Border Dispute: An “Under the Radar” Case for Diplomatic Protection of Human Rights?

Vniversitas ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (138) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Joseph-Blaise MacLean ◽  
Walter Arévalo Ramírez
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
The Public ◽  
Diplomatic Protection ◽  
Border Dispute ◽  
Colombian Government ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights

While International Humanitarian, Refugee and Human Rights Law are frequently resorted to in the search for remedies for human rights violations, the Public International Law remedy of Diplomatic Protection is often forgotten, perhaps because there are few cases fitting the legal requirements for that remedy. The Venezuelan expulsions and property confiscations in 2015 and 2017 of Colombian residents without due process and, frequently, with violence may provide a useful example of an appropriate case for Diplomatic Protection arising within the context of a forced expulsion of an identifiable nationality. The following article, result of a research project regarding international law enforceability, reviews the current law on Diplomatic Protection and, within the context of a factual survey of the treatment of Colombian nationals by Venezuela, undertakes an analysis as to whether the facts of the case in fact give rise to a remedy of Diplomatic Protection. Effectively, the article argues in favour of the availability of this remedy as an option for the Colombian government.

scholarly journals THE “JUSTICE INDEX” IS A STEP TOWARDS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GLOBAL GOAL 16 OF THE U.N. AGENDA

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 64-85
Author(s):  
E. Alekseevskaya ◽  
L. Treskina
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Fair Trial ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Legal Proceedings ◽  
The Public ◽  
European Court ◽  
Indexing Method ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Global Goal

This paper proposes a method for measuring sustainable development as a means of the implementation of the Global Goal 16 of the United Nations Agenda. This method is the primary attempt to quantify the quality of the rules of the judiciary and access to a court in order to monitor sustainable development in the area of justice. In the recent years, the U.N. drew attention to the fact that qualitative changes should be evaluated through quantitative indicators.The authors’ methodology is based on the fair trial standard formulated by the European Court of Human Rights based on the interpretation of Article 6 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as well as the public services standard of the Russian Federation. This indexing method helps to assess the current level of legal guarantees in the rules of legal proceedings and draft legislation, and to establish their compliance with the fair trial principles. Indexing the access to justice has another positive effect – it helps to monitor the local situations and every level of the judicial system.Putting this method into practice will encourage avoidance of the adoption of bills that might reduce the level of legal guarantees and will assist attempts to monitor its dynamics. It could promote the introduction of effective procedures and better access to court, ensure the improved accountability of all public justice institutions at all levels and support overall societal wellbeing.

scholarly journals The Criminal Liability of Corporations: A Step Forward in the Implementation of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Alejandro Sánchez González
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Criminal Liability ◽  
Public Governance ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Guiding Principles

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) marked the end of a long journey towards regulating corporate conduct on this issue. However, they were conceived only as a focal point to guide public, corporate and civil governance towards the respect and protection of human rights. For this reason, the UNGP function as a common platform on which new rules and strategies should be developed. In this sense, as an element of public governance, Mexico adopted the criminal liability of corporations (CLC), which entered into force in 2016, along with the accusatory criminal justice system. Thus, since one of the purposes of criminal law is the subsidiary protection of legal assets —most of which have an underlying fundamental right—, the purpose of this article is to determine whether or not Mexico’s adoption of the CLC enhances the implementation of the UNGP, and if so, to evaluate its scope and limitations. After scrutinizing the UNGP in light of the regulation of the CLC in Mexico, the author argues that, although its performance can be optimized in many ways, the CLC plays an essential role in the area of business and human rights, not only for its direct contributions, but also for the interaction it generates with corporate and civil governance.

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