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Implementing the New UN Corporate Human Rights Framework: Implications for Corporate Law, Governance and Regulation

Muchlinski, Peter

Authors

Peter Muchlinski



Abstract

The UN Framework on Human Rights and Business comprises the State’s duty to protect human rights, the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, and the duty to remedy abuses. This paper focuses on the corporate responsibility to respect. It considers how to overcome obstacles, arising out of national and international law, to the development of a legally binding corporate duty to respect human rights. It is argued that the notion of human rights due diligence will lead to the creation of binding legal duties and that principles of corporate and tort law can be adapted to this end. Furthermore, recent legal developments accept an “enlightened shareholder value” approach allowing corporate managers to consider human rights issues when making decisions. The responsibility to respect involves adaptation of shareholder based corporate governance towards a more stakeholder oriented approach and could lead to the development of a new, stakeholder based, corporate model.

Citation

Muchlinski, P. (2012). Implementing the New UN Corporate Human Rights Framework: Implications for Corporate Law, Governance and Regulation. Business Ethics Quarterly, 22(1), 145-177. https://doi.org/10.5840/beq20122218

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jan 1, 2012
Deposit Date Mar 21, 2012
Journal Business Ethics Quarterly
Print ISSN 1052-150X
Electronic ISSN 2153-3326
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 22
Issue 1
Pages 145-177
DOI https://doi.org/10.5840/beq20122218
Publisher URL http://www.secure.pdcnet.org/beq/content/beq_2012_0022_0001_0145_0177


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