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Semester 1

Business & Human Rights (LAWS10259)

Subject

Law

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students must have completed 3 Law courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. This course is only open to visiting students who are nominated to study with us on a Law exchange agreement. Exchange students outside of Law and study abroad students are not eligible to enrol on this course before teaching begins, with no exceptions, and spaces cannot be guaranteed to those students at any time. **Please see Additional Restrictions**

Course Summary

Through the globalisation of trade, businesses are confronted frequently with human rights issues. This course examines how principles of commercial law, the objectives of businesses, and the demands of human rights protection interact.

Course Description

This course examines the intersection between (international) business and (international) human rights law. This course does not require any pre-existing knowledge of (international) human rights law or commercial law. The course focuses on how commercial law in the broadest sense can be used to find solutions for the complicated human rights issues that confront businesses. Traditionally, only states are subject to international human rights law obligations. States should therefore enact legislation that will protect human rights. This includes legislation to ensure companies respect human rights (which includes protecting the environment and workers rights.) If a state does not enact any legislation or does not enforce this legislation does this mean that companies do not have to respect human rights? There is a growing debate on whether companies have an obligation that is independent from the state to respect human rights. This is particularly relevant when considering the responsibilities of parent companies for subsidiaries and responsibilities for partners within the supply chain. **The course approaches the subject area from an inclusive, diverse, and transnational perspective. The course aims to identify and critically deconstruct hierarchies in business & human rights. The course is not taught from the perspective of a particular jurisdiction and includes a variety of voices; especially those voices of the victims of corporate human rights violations. Their perspective often gets marginalised when it should be at the centre of the debate and policy making. **The course analyses the growing international and national framework such as the 2011 United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and relevant national laws, including the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015, the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive, and the EU Sustainability Reporting Directive. The course draws on different areas of law including contract law, company law, and tort law to understand the actions businesses and civil society can take to further transparency and accountability for corporate human rights violations. **In addition to exploring the theoretical foundations of business and human rights, the course helps students acquire the skills and tools to assess and address human rights risks in a business context. This includes the use of case studies, assessing National Action Plans, drafting contract clauses, and analysing corporate codes of conduct. **The course provides students with a critical perspective on the challenges and limitations of business and human rights, including issues related to corporate accountability, transparency, and access to remedies. **The course would cover: Ø The role of business in promoting and protecting human rights: An examination of the impact of business activities on human rights and the responsibilities of businesses to respect human rights. Ø Ethics and business: the ethical dimensions of business and human rights, including the role of corporate social responsibility. Ø The Legal Framework: focusing on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the emerging national legal framework on human rights due diligence. Ø Corporate accountability and access to remedy: the mechanisms for holding businesses accountable for human rights violations, including judicial and non-judicial mechanisms. Ø Human rights due diligence, impact assessment, and risk management: the practices and tools for identifying and assessing human rights risks in business operations and supply chains. Ø The role of contracts in furthering transparency and accountability in supply chain management.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

Additional Restrictions

**All 3rd year Law courses are ONLY open to visiting students nominated on an exchange agreement within the School of Law (including Erasmus students on a Law-specific exchange). Exchange students outside of Law, and independent study abroad students, are not eligible to enrol in these courses, with no exceptions.** Please note that 3rd year Law courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces. These enrolments are managed strictly by the CAHSS Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the Law School directly to request additional spaces. If there is sufficient space for other visiting students to enrol at the start of the semester (which cannot be guaranteed at all), visiting students must meet the pre-requisites listed above.

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