Business and Human Rights ─ History, Law and Policy - Bridging the Accountability Gap

The raison d’être of a business corporation is to generate profits. How to reconcile profit-making and respect for sometimes contradictory human rights standards, especially in areas where respect for the rule of law is not prevalent, is one of the key questions raised by the field of business and human rights. Adopting a legal perspective, this book presents the various ways in which this dual undertaking has been and could be further carried out in the future.

This book provides an extensive and detailed examination of business and human rights, and evaluating the extent to which the various initiatives in the field bridge the corporate accountability gap. It takes a detailed look at the historical background of the field of business and human rights, examining salient periods, events and cases in order to see how international human rights and labour law have developed. The book then goes on to explore the relevance of international human rights law and international criminal law for global business, evaluating the relevant international law, initiatives and policies. Soft law and policy initiatives which have blossomed in recent years are evaluated along with private modes of regulation in the business and human rights arena in order to show how progress has begun to be made towards bridging the accountability gap. The book also examines how domestic law can and should be used to address corporate-related human rights violations and to durably embed human rights in business practice.

Nadia Bernaz is a Senior Lecturer at Middlesex University School of Law, Programme leader of the pioneering MA Human Rights and Business, Adjunct Lecturer of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland, Galway and visiting professor at the Catholic University of Lille.