BHRJ Blog
Welcome to the blog of the Business and Human Rights Journal, an authoritative platform for scholarly debate on all issues concerning the intersection of business and human rights in an open, critical and interdisciplinary manner.
Latest posts:
- Introducing the Book“Peace, Business, and Democracy: Corporate Responsibility in Peace and Governance”
- Rereading Pillar I in the Age of European Due Diligence: Public Actors in Markets
- Extracting Profit, Externalising Responsibility? The Mariana Dam Case and the Future of Parent Company Responsibility
- Perfectly Foreseeable Harm and the Design Limits of Human Rights Due Diligence: Reflections from X-Press Pearl
- From Business of Human Rights to Business for Human Rights: Time for Professional Ethics in a Growing Industry?
Introducing the Book“Peace, Business, and Democracy: Corporate Responsibility in Peace and Governance”
Are Businesses Responsible for Peace and Democracy? Businesses have a significant impact on both peace and democracy. Advancing peace requires the development of civil societies based on equity, equality, and the protection of human rights, as well as efforts to prevent recurring violence and limit economic losses caused by conflict. Democracy ensures political freedom and…
Rereading Pillar I in the Age of European Due Diligence: Public Actors in Markets
Introduction: From Convergence to Institutionalization The unanimous endorsement of United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011 marked an extraordinary moment of global convergence. Since then, the UNGPs have structured the field of business and human rights: national action plans, corporate compliance systems, investor frameworks,…
Extracting Profit, Externalising Responsibility? The Mariana Dam Case and the Future of Parent Company Responsibility
Introduction Ten years after the collapse of the Fundão dam caused devastating environmental damage in the Doce River basin, the question persists: can a parent company extract profit from hazardous operations conducted through its subsidiaries while externalising responsibility when disaster strikes? The successful outcome of the UK High Court proceedings indicates that parent companies may…
Perfectly Foreseeable Harm and the Design Limits of Human Rights Due Diligence: Reflections from X-Press Pearl
When the cargo vessel X-Press Pearl caught fire off the coast of Sri Lanka in May 2021, attention initially focused on emergency response. The ship burned for days before eventually sinking, releasing hazardous chemicals and billions of plastic pellets into the Indian Ocean. Fishing was suspended along large stretches of the coastline. For many coastal…
From Business of Human Rights to Business for Human Rights: Time for Professional Ethics in a Growing Industry?
This blog is the third part of a four-part series titled “From Business of Human Rights to Business for Human Rights”. In Blog I and Blog II of this series we discussed the theoretical foundations and practical manifestations of ethical dilemmas faced by lawyers, particularly in the context of the growing body of hard law…
The Implications of the Limbu Case for Tackling New Economic Imperialism in Global Labour-Value Chains
Introduction It is estimated that more than eighty per cent of world trade is controlled by multinationals headquartered in the Global North. Intan Suwandi’s book introduces the concept of “global labour-value chains” to describe how globalised production entrenches imperial dominance by transferring surplus value from the Global South to the Global North. Rather than levelling…
From Business of Human Rights to Business for Human Rights: Ethical Tensions and Professional Dilemmas in Legal Practice
Introduction This blog is the second part of a four-part series titled From Business of Human Rights to Business for Human Rights With the coming in force of stronger regulation concerning the responsibilities of corporations, there has been an expansion in the role of the lawyer acting on behalf of their corporate clients. Whilst previously,…
The Growing Engagement of OECD National Contact Points in Promoting Responsible Business Conduct in Palestinian Territories
Introduction The OECD’s network of National Contact Points (NCPs), which implements the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC), is approaching its thirtieth anniversary. Over this period, the prominence of NCPs has grown and they have developed in several directions, including the promotion of RBC. In parallel, there has been a growing…
From Business of Human Rights to Business for Human Rights: A Renegotiation of Legal Professional Obligations
In a discussion held at University College London on if law firms can have values, a partner at a large law firm in London reflected on his initial desire to become a lawyer, namely, a strong sense of and interest in justice. Instead, as he started as a junior lawyer in a large law firm,…
Moving the Needle: Reflecting on the Total Uganda Decision of 18 September 2025
In 2017, France became the first Member State of the European Union to adopt a law on the corporate duty of vigilance (Loi de Vigilance). The Law allows any person with a legitimate interest to issue a formal notice to the company that is failing to meet its obligations under the Law. If the company…
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