Business and Human Rights

Beginning with the United Nations General Assembly in 2011 and the adoption of the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, business and human rights law is an emerging area of interest in the legal profession. The Guiding Principles outlined that states and business enterprises, both international and domestic, have the obligation to fulfil human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Guiding Principles outline that business enterprises should: avoid infringing on the human rights of others and seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are linked to their operations, products or services. The Guiding Principles call on business enterprises to put policies and processes in place to meet their responsibility to respect human rights, as well as conduct due diligence processes to identify, prevent and mitigate negative impacts on human rights. This is different from typical Corporate Social Responsibility requirements which are typically voluntary and philanthropic. The Guiding Principles are being interpreted around the world and incorporated into domestic legislation in countries such as France, Norway and Denmark. The Guiding Principles apply from the Board of Directors down to the actions of contractors, and as such, there is currently much discussion happening around the implementation of the Principles at the operational level, a matter which is central to international business law. The course will examine how the Guiding Principles have been implemented from a legal and policy perspective. Students will examine the new body of case law in Canada and abroad which is based on the failure of various corporations to comply with the responsibilities in the Guiding Principles. Students will explore how governments, businesses and lobbying groups have responded to the Guiding Principles and the tensions that exist between these groups when business enterprises are deemed to not be adhering to their responsibilities to protect, affirm and avoid infringing on human rights.