Overcoming the Corporate Veil Challenge: Could Investment Law Inspire the Proposed Business and Human Rights Treaty?

This article proposes a model of treaty-based veil piercing for civil liability claims by victims of human rights harm inflicted by businesses. The primary inspiration for this model comes from investment treaty provisions dealing with corporate investors. Our examination of investment law for this purpose exposes the double standard in the treatment of the corporate veil between these two remedy regimes,andoffersawaytoaddressthis.Thetestweproposeforliftingthe veil in order to allow victims to claim against the parent company in a corporate group is one of ‘legal control’. It aims to capture cases where the parent did not necessarily take an active role in the subsidiary’s business, but it is still treated as being in control of it by virtue of its direct or indirect ownership or ability to appoint management

Human Rights Disclosure and Due Diligence Laws: The Role of Regulatory Oversight in Ensuring Corporate Accountability

In response to intense civil society pressure and the increasing public awareness of the appalling human rights impacts of businesses including working conditions amounting to slavery and forced labor, several governments have committed themselves to taking action to prevent human rights abuses by businesses and eradicate modern slavery in global supply chains. While the majority of the legislative movement in this area is focused on increasing transparency through corporate disclosures on human rights, we are also seeing a gradual move towards legislation introducing mandatory human rights due diligence (HRDD). HRDD laws can clearly address some of the design shortcomings of transparency focused laws. Yet, the question of robust implementation remains underexplored for both transparency and HRDD laws. In this paper, we focus on the oversight and enforcement features of both human rights reporting and due diligence laws as among the missing links to achieving the accountability objectives envisaged by such legislation. Based on an analysis of the most recent pieces of legislation focusing on transparency and/or HRDD, we observe and critique that the state has almost completely withdrawn itself from the oversight and enforcement roles and assigned these crucial accountability functions solely to consumers, civil society, and investors. Without a regulatory mechanism to ensure quality of human rights disclosures and due diligence processes and impose sanctions for failing to comply with the laws, not only may the disclosures and processes be inadequate, but there is a danger that misleading disclosures and flawed processes may mask harmful impacts and be detrimental to any hopes of improving rights of workers and communities in the global supply chain. We offer a new perspective on a more effective approach to oversight and enforcement in which the state should function as a key actor through which consumers, civil society, and investors can hold businesses accountable

Microcirculation and Macrocirculation in Cardiac Surgical Patients

Background. The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between microcirculatory alterations after open cardiac surgery, macrohemodynamics, and global indices of organ perfusion. Methods. Patients' microcirculation was assessed with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and the vascular occlusion technique (VOT). Results. 23 patients undergoing open cardiac surgery (11 male/12 female, median age 68 (range 28–82) years, EuroSCORE 6 (1–12)) were enrolled in the study. For pooled data, CI correlated with the tissue oxygen consumption rate as well as the reperfusion rate (r = 0.56, P < 0.001 and r = 0.58, P < 0.001, resp.). In addition, both total oxygen delivery (DO2, mL/min per m2) and total oxygen consumption (VO2, mL/min per m2) also correlated with the tissue oxygen consumption rate and the reperfusion rate. The tissue oxygen saturation of the thenar postoperatively correlated with the peak lactate levels during the six hour monitoring period (r = 0.50, P < 0.05). The tissue oxygen consumption rate (%/min) and the reperfusion rate (%/min), as derived from the VOT, were higher in survivors compared to nonsurvivors for pooled data [23 (4–54) versus 20 (8–38) P < 0.05] and [424 (27–1215) versus 197 (57–632) P < 0.01], respectively. Conclusion. Microcirculatory alterations after open cardiac surgery are related to macrohemodynamics and global indices of organ perfusion

Supply chain liability: pushing the boundaries of the common law?

On 29 August 2016, in a claim by Pakistani survivors and legal heirs against German retailer KiK for injuries and deaths during a fire at a factory supplying jeans in Karachi, German judges accepted jurisdiction and granted legal aid to the Pakistani claimants to cover the legal fees. The case pending before the German court thus poses the question of supply chain liability. Taking the lawsuit by the Pakistani plaintiffs against KiK in Germany as a case study, this article provides an analysis of the available legal grounds for such liability. Economic changes have ushered in linkages between purchasers and suppliers that call for strong principles of liability – principles that are already embedded in the law but which need fresh articulation and application. English courts have only recently recognised that under certain circumstances, liability might attach to a parent company under the tort of negligence for damage to third parties ostensibly caused by its subsidiary. The KiK case is testing the extension of such liability to certain supply chain relationships. Beyond that, the case is also testing the application of the rules on non-delegable duties and vicarious liability in the supply chain context. Even if the court disagrees with the claimants’ position, the novel arguments advanced in this case are likely to be the starting point for an important debate about the proper fit between traditional tort law and the fast changing commercial and employment relationships of the 21st century

0915 Sleep Patterns and the Effect of Late Bedtime on School-Age Children and Adolescents: Preliminary Results

17 USC 105 interim-entered record; under review.The article of record as published may be found at https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaa056.911Introduction: School-age children (6-13yrs) and teenagers (14-17yrs) should receive 9-11hrs and 8-10hrs of sleep/day, respectively. Several studies have shown, however, that these age groups are chronically sleep deprived. Our study assessed the sleep patterns of a sample of children and teenagers in Athens, Greece. The study is part of a larger project investigating the association between orthodontic treatment and sleep disturbances. Methods: Participants (N=27; 69% females; 21 school-age children 9-13yrs, 6 teenagers 14-17yrs) were under treatment in the Orthodontic Clinic of the National and Kapodistrian University. Sleep was assessed with actigraphy/logs for 59±19 days. Results: Participants slept on average 7.36±0.42hrs/day. Nighttime sleep was on average 7.23±0.43hrs (percentage sleep: 87.3%±3.38%). Four (14.8%) participants napped at least once/week. Compared to the lowest sleep duration recommended for their age group, participants showed a chronic sleep deficit of 1.42±0.52hrs/day (range: 0.32-2.15hrs). The younger age group had an average sleep deficit of ~1.6hrs compared to ~0.8hrs for the teenagers (p=0.006). During the school year, daily sleep duration increased by ~0.73hrs on weekends (7.78±0.67hrs) compared to school nights (7.05±0.48hrs; p<0.001). On average, school-age participants slept from 23:13 (±31min) until 7:19 (±22min) on school nights and from 23:23 (±2:72hrs) until 8:49 (±39min) on weekends. Teenagers slept from 00:34 (±36min) until 7:40 (±14min) on school nights and from 01:34 (±41min) until 10:34 (±48min) on weekends. Conclusion: Our findings verify earlier survey results showing that restricted sleep is a problem for children and adolescents in Greece. To our surprise, both age groups go to bed quite late. The impact of late bedtime on sleep duration, however, is larger in the younger group due to their larger sleep needs. In contrast to earlier research in rural areas, napping was not common in our urban sample, probably due to extracurricular activities and studying at home

A multidisciplinary treatment of congenitally missing maxillary lateral incisors: a 14-year follow-up case report

Absence of the maxillary lateral incisor creates an aesthetic problem which can be managed in various ways. The condition requires careful treatment planning and consideration of the options and outcomes following either space closure or prosthetic replacement. Recent developments in restorative dentistry have warranted a re-evaluation of the approach to this clinical situation. Factors relating both to the patient and the teeth, including the presentation of malocclusion and the effect on the occlusion must be considered. The objective of this study was to describe the etiology, prevalence and alternative treatment modalities for dental agenesis and to present a clinical case of agenesis of the maxillary lateral incisors treated by the closure of excessive spaces and canine re-anatomization. A clinical case is presented to illustrate the interdisciplinary approach between orthodontics and restorative dentistry for improved esthetic results. In this report, the treatment of a girl with a Class II malocclusion of molars and canines with missing maxillary lateral incisors and convex facial profile is shown. Treatment was successfully achieved and included the space closure of the areas corresponding to the missing upper lateral incisors, through movement of the canines and the posterior teeth to mesial by fixed appliances as well as the canines transformation in the maxillary lateral incisors. This is a 14-year follow-up case report involving orthodontics and restorative dentistry in which pretreatment, posttreatment, and long-term follow-up records for the patient are presented