Actualités et agenda
Nos formations
Présentation
Knowledge of the international human rights legal framework, as well as international criminal law, international investment law and international trade law are helpful but not necessary to follow the course.
Familiarity with foreign legal systems, particularly common law systems is also an asset but is not required.
At the end of the course, the student should be able to:
1. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge and systematic understanding of international and selected domestic standards on business and human rights, and how they relate to other areas of law;
2. Engage with and discuss key business and human rights cases before domestic courts and non-judicial accountability mechanisms;
3. Identify remaining gaps in the field of business and human rights and contribute to discussions on how these could be bridged.
4. Resource key relevant issues using library, legal journals, Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) reports as well as the United Nations documents portal, and provide cross-cutting thematic analysis of legal sources in the field of business and human rights;
5. Evaluate the application of business and human rights standards by states and corporations in specific contexts;
6. Engage critically with the legal scholarship on business and human rights.
The Bhopal disaster, the tragedy of the Niger Delta and the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory are all examples of what appears to be systemic corporate human rights abuses which are not being adequately prevented or remedied. These tragedies reveal the powerlessness of victims who seem to be lacking access to the channels that would allow them to raise concerns and bring claims, in or outside courts. They also reveal a staggering lack of transparency in the operations of global businesses. In sum, the picture seems to be one of limited accountability of businesses in the human rights area. “Business and human rights”, as a field, seeks to enhance the accountability of businesses in the human rights area or, to phrase it differently, to bridge the accountability gap. In this context, the course seeks to provide post-graduate students with a general introduction to the field of business and human rights, which touches upon international human rights law, international criminal law, as well as international investment and trade law.
Business and human rights challenges the State-centred architecture of international human rights law and delves into the responsibility of non-state actors such as multinational corporations in the area of human rights. It also challenges the idea that only individuals can commit international crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and looks into corporate criminal and civil liability for human rights violations. International standards in the area have been set by international organisations as diverse as the United Nations, the European Union, the OECD, and the World Bank group, all of which will be explored in the course. Far for being unified, the field of business and human rights consists of a web of standards at the international and domestic levels. The aim of the course is to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of these standards and with tools to critically reflect on the adverse impacts of global business operations.
• Introduction: history and contemporary impact of business on human rights.
• Business and International Human Rights Law: Do businesses have human rights obligations?
• International investment law and human rights
• International trade law and human rights
• The United Nations and the Regulation of Business – Part 1: 1945-2005
• The United Nations and the Regulation of Business – Part 2: the 2011 UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
• The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
• Human Rights and Project Finance at the World Bank
• Corporate crimes in International Criminal Law
• Corporate Criminal Liability before domestic courts
• Civil claims for corporate human rights violations
• The future: towards a business and human rights treaty
Modalités
Because the lecturer is coming from abroad, the course is taught in intensive blocks of one or two full days.
Effective presence:24h
Self learning:30h
Personal work: 30h
The assessment consists of a coursework (paper) with a 5,000-word limit. This constitutes 100% of the marks for the course. The coursework assesses the ability to identify, apply and analyse critically principles of law in the area of business and human rights. This addresses learning outcomes 1-6.
A list of topics is proposed to the students, who may also choose outside the list. Those who choose outside the list must obtain consent from the lecturer in writing (via email).
The word count DOES NOT include the bibliography and the footnotes, provided the footnotes are used for citation and reference purposes only. If students use footnotes to add more contents to the paper, it will count towards the word limit.
Coursework must be submitted electronically to nadia.bernaz@wur.nl, where it will be checked for possible plagiarism, collusion and word count using the appropriate software.
Ressources
<b>Class books:</b>|| Bernaz (Nadia),<b> </b><i>Business and Human Rights. History, Law and Policy – Bridging the Accountability Gap</i>, Routledge (2017).<b> </b>|| <b> </b>|| <b>Advised</b><b> books (journals):</b>|| Business and Human Rights Journal