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:
- From Rhetoric to Practice: The EU–India Trade Deal is a Start, but Turning Sustainability Promises into Impact Will Take Far More
- Rethinking the Corporate Role in Russia’s War on Ukraine: From Accountability to Reparations?
- The French Duty of Vigilance Law in Action: Landmark Ruling by the Paris Court Granting Remedy to Workers and a Union
- From Business of Human Rights to Business For Human Rights: The Foundations and Future of the BHR Profession
- Introducing the Book“Peace, Business, and Democracy: Corporate Responsibility in Peace and Governance”
From Rhetoric to Practice: The EU–India Trade Deal is a Start, but Turning Sustainability Promises into Impact Will Take Far More
As India and the European Union move closer to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), much of the attention has focused on tariffs, market access and climate cooperation. But the most consequential test of this deal will not be how efficiently goods move across borders. It will be whether the agreement meaningfully improves outcomes for workers,…
Rethinking the Corporate Role in Russia’s War on Ukraine: From Accountability to Reparations?
Introduction On 24th February 2022, the world was shaken with Russia’s initiation of a full-scale invasion against Ukraine, recognised by the United Nations (UN) as an act of aggression. This new chapter in interstate conflict raised questions about the alleged human rights impacts of corporate actors linked to gross violations committed in Ukraine. Initially, the…
The French Duty of Vigilance Law in Action: Landmark Ruling by the Paris Court Granting Remedy to Workers and a Union
The second ruling on the merits of the 2017 Duty of Vigilance Law was pronounced on March 12, 2026. The case concerned an abroad subsidiary of a French company. Less than one year after the ruling against La Poste of the Appeal Court, that had ordered the defendant to rewrite its vigilance plan, this time…
From Business of Human Rights to Business For Human Rights: The Foundations and Future of the BHR Profession
In Blogs I, II, and III, we explored how the evolving landscape of Business and Human Rights (BHR) has begun to fundamentally challenge both the traditional role of the lawyer and the professional obligations of a growing group of practitioners. Lawyers, consultants, auditors, and other professionals increasingly make their living by advising on, implementing, and…
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…
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