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

Improving Paths to Business Accountability for Human Rights Abuses: A Legal Guide

As part of its project on human rights accountability in the global supply chain the University of Essex Business and Human Rights Project has published a legal guide on business accountability for human rights abuses in supply chains. The purpose of the guide is to identify paths to accountability for human rights abuses in global supply chains by looking beyond the ‘arm’s length transaction’ between certain contractual parties in a special relationship. It aims to provide advocates with an informative and interpretive tool supporting them to push the boundaries of civil liability, for human rights abuses in global supply chains, grounded in existing legal principles. The underlying rationale behind this exercise is an attempt to overcome the disconnect between the law and the economic and social realities prevailing in global production networks

Beyond Antagonism: Legal Protection of Foreign Investment in the Natural Resources Sector

The essay examines the legal protection of foreign investment in the natural resources sector, keeping in mind the pivotal role the sector may play in the economic development of the host State as well as the need to strike a balance between the private and public interests at stake. After elaborating on the notions of permanent sovereignty over natural resources and sustainable development, it discusses the main questions related to the exercise of regulatory powers by the host State, the protection of social values, and the promotion of good governance. It finally attempts to identify the sources of tension and possibly conflict with a view of reconciling the competing rights and interests of stakeholders