Human rights and multinationals: Is there a problem?

International Affairs

Volumn 77, Issue 1, 2001, Pages 31-48

  Muchlinski, Peter T ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0040485182     PISSN: 00205850     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/1468-2346.00176     Document Type: Article

References (93)

1. See Human Rights Watch, Nigeria, the Ogoni crisis: a case study of military repression in south east Nigeria (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1995); Ben Naanen, 'Oil producing minorities and the restructuring of Nigerian federalism: the case of the Ogoni people', Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 33, 1995, p. 45; Eghosa Osaghae, 'The Ogoni uprising: oil, politics, minority agitation and the future of the Nigerian state', African Affairs 94, 1991, p. 325; S. Skogly, 'Complexities in human rights protection: actors and rights involved in the Ogoni conflict in Nigeria', NQHR 15: 52, 1997; Heike Fabig, 'The Body Shop and the Ogoni', in Michael Addo, ed., Human rights standards and the responsibility of transnational corporations (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 1999), pp. 309-21.
2. See Human Rights Watch, Nigeria, the Ogoni crisis: a case study of military repression in south east Nigeria (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1995); Ben Naanen, 'Oil producing minorities and the restructuring of Nigerian federalism: the case of the Ogoni people', Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 33, 1995, p. 45; Eghosa Osaghae, 'The Ogoni uprising: oil, politics, minority agitation and the future of the Nigerian state', African Affairs 94, 1991, p. 325; S. Skogly, 'Complexities in human rights protection: actors and rights involved in the Ogoni conflict in Nigeria', NQHR 15: 52, 1997; Heike Fabig, 'The Body Shop and the Ogoni', in Michael Addo, ed., Human rights standards and the responsibility of transnational corporations (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 1999), pp. 309-21.
3. See Human Rights Watch, Nigeria, the Ogoni crisis: a case study of military repression in south east Nigeria (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1995); Ben Naanen, 'Oil producing minorities and the restructuring of Nigerian federalism: the case of the Ogoni people', Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 33, 1995, p. 45; Eghosa Osaghae, 'The Ogoni uprising: oil, politics, minority agitation and the future of the Nigerian state', African Affairs 94, 1991, p. 325; S. Skogly, 'Complexities in human rights protection: actors and rights involved in the Ogoni conflict in Nigeria', NQHR 15: 52, 1997; Heike Fabig, 'The Body Shop and the Ogoni', in Michael Addo, ed., Human rights standards and the responsibility of transnational corporations (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 1999), pp. 309-21.
4. See Human Rights Watch, Nigeria, the Ogoni crisis: a case study of military repression in south east Nigeria (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1995); Ben Naanen, 'Oil producing minorities and the restructuring of Nigerian federalism: the case of the Ogoni people', Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 33, 1995, p. 45; Eghosa Osaghae, 'The Ogoni uprising: oil, politics, minority agitation and the future of the Nigerian state', African Affairs 94, 1991, p. 325; S. Skogly, 'Complexities in human rights protection: actors and rights involved in the Ogoni conflict in Nigeria', NQHR 15: 52, 1997; Heike Fabig, 'The Body Shop and the Ogoni', in Michael Addo, ed., Human rights standards and the responsibility of transnational corporations (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 1999), pp. 309-21.
5. See Human Rights Watch, Nigeria, the Ogoni crisis: a case study of military repression in south east Nigeria (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1995); Ben Naanen, 'Oil producing minorities and the restructuring of Nigerian federalism: the case of the Ogoni people', Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 33, 1995, p. 45; Eghosa Osaghae, 'The Ogoni uprising: oil, politics, minority agitation and the future of the Nigerian state', African Affairs 94, 1991, p. 325; S. Skogly, 'Complexities in human rights protection: actors and rights involved in the Ogoni conflict in Nigeria', NQHR 15: 52, 1997; Heike Fabig, 'The Body Shop and the Ogoni', in Michael Addo, ed., Human rights standards and the responsibility of transnational corporations (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 1999), pp. 309-21.
6. 'BP accused of funding Colombian death squads', Observer, 20 Oct. 1996, pp. 1, 18.
7. See further note 45 below.
8. Andrew Clapham, Human rights in the private sphere (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993).
9. On which see further Michael Addo, 'The corporation as victim of human rights violations', in Addo, ed., Human rights standards, pp. 187-97.
10. See further text at notes 49-51.
11. See C. B. Macpherson, The political theory of possessive individualism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1962).
12. Upendra Baxi, 'Voices of suffering and the future of human rights', Transnational Law ana Contemporary Problems 8, 1998, pp. 126-175 at p. 135.
13. See Addo, 'The corporation as victim of human rights violations', note 5.
14. Ibid. See too the discussion by Phillip Blumberg of the extension of US constitutional rights to corporations in his The multinational challenge to corporation law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), pp. 30-45.
15. Ibid. See too the discussion by Phillip Blumberg of the extension of US constitutional rights to corporations in his The multinational challenge to corporation law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), pp. 30-45.
16. See D. J. Harris, M. O'Boyle and C. Warbrick, The law of the European Convention on Human Rights (London: Butterworths, 1995), pp. 1-3.
17. See Mark Mazower, Dark continent: Europe's twentieth century (London: Penguin Books, 1999), pp. 206-9.
18. See e.g. Clare Short, Secretary of State for International Development, 'All human rights for all', speech to the Law Society, London, 3 Dec. 1998.
19. See Mazower, Dark continent, pp. 356-63; Eric Hobsbawm, Age of extremes: the short history of the twentieth century (London: Abacus Books, 1995), ch. 11, 'Cultural revolution'.
20. See Mazower, Dark continent, pp. 356-63; Eric Hobsbawm, Age of extremes: the short history of the twentieth century (London: Abacus Books, 1995), ch. 11, 'Cultural revolution'.
21. See further Leslie Sklair, Sociology of the global system, 2nd edn (London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1995); Yannis Gabriel and Tim Lang, The unmanageable consumer (London: Sage, 1995); P. T. Muchlinski, Multinational enterprises and the law, rev. pb edn (Oxford: Blackwell, 1999), pp. 99-101.
22. See further Leslie Sklair, Sociology of the global system, 2nd edn (London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1995); Yannis Gabriel and Tim Lang, The unmanageable consumer (London: Sage, 1995); P. T. Muchlinski, Multinational enterprises and the law, rev. pb edn (Oxford: Blackwell, 1999), pp. 99-101.
23. See further Leslie Sklair, Sociology of the global system, 2nd edn (London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1995); Yannis Gabriel and Tim Lang, The unmanageable consumer (London: Sage, 1995); P. T. Muchlinski, Multinational enterprises and the law, rev. pb edn (Oxford: Blackwell, 1999), pp. 99-101.
24. See e.g. the UN Draft Code of Conduct for Transnational Corporations, paras 15-16, in UNCTAD, International investment agreements: a compendium (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 1996), vol. 1, p. 165.
25. See Ray Vernon in Business and human rights (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Law School Human Rights Program, 1999), p. 49.
26. See further J. E. Parkinson, Corporate power and responsibility (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993); J. Dine, The governance of corporate groups (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000).
27. See further J. E. Parkinson, Corporate power and responsibility (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993); J. Dine, The governance of corporate groups (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000).
28. See further John Braithwaite and Peter Drahos, Global business regulation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000).
29. On which see further Clapham, Human rights in the private sphere.
30. See Parkinson, Corporate power and responsibility; Dine, The governance of corporate groups; Muchlinski, Multinational enterprises and the law, pp. 93-5; UNCTAD, The social responsibility of transnational corporations (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 1999); UNCTAD, World Investment Report 1999 (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 1999), ch. XII.
31. See Parkinson, Corporate power and responsibility; Dine, The governance of corporate groups; Muchlinski, Multinational enterprises and the law, pp. 93-5; UNCTAD, The social responsibility of transnational corporations (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 1999); UNCTAD, World Investment Report 1999 (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 1999), ch. XII.
32. See Parkinson, Corporate power and responsibility; Dine, The governance of corporate groups; Muchlinski, Multinational enterprises and the law, pp. 93-5; UNCTAD, The social responsibility of transnational corporations (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 1999); UNCTAD, World Investment Report 1999 (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 1999), ch. XII.
33. See Parkinson, Corporate power and responsibility; Dine, The governance of corporate groups; Muchlinski, Multinational enterprises and the law, pp. 93-5; UNCTAD, The social responsibility of transnational corporations (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 1999); UNCTAD, World Investment Report 1999 (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 1999), ch. XII.
34. See Parkinson, Corporate power and responsibility; Dine, The governance of corporate groups; Muchlinski, Multinational enterprises and the law, pp. 93-5; UNCTAD, The social responsibility of transnational corporations (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 1999); UNCTAD, World Investment Report 1999 (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 1999), ch. XII.
35. ILO, Official Bulletin (Geneva, 1978), vol. LXI, series A, no. 1, pp. 49-56, reproduced in UNCTAD, International investment agreements: a compendium, pp. 89-102. See also ILO, Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (Geneva: ILO, 18 June 1998).
36. ILO, Official Bulletin (Geneva, 1978), vol. LXI, series A, no. 1, pp. 49-56, reproduced in UNCTAD, International investment agreements: a compendium, pp. 89-102. See also ILO, Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (Geneva: ILO, 18 June 1998).
37. ILO, Official Bulletin (Geneva, 1978), vol. LXI, series A, no. 1, pp. 49-56, reproduced in UNCTAD, International investment agreements: a compendium, pp. 89-102. See also ILO, Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (Geneva: ILO, 18 June 1998).
38. OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, 27 June 2000 (Paris: OECD, 2000) and on www.oecd.org/daf/investment/guidelines/mnetext.htm
39. See further Sol Picciotto and Ruth Mayne, eds, Regulating international business (London: Macmillan/ Oxfam, 1999).
40. For examples see UNCTAD, World Investment Report 1994 (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 1994), ch. VIII; UNCTAD, The Social Responsibility of Transnational Corporations (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 1999), pp. 31-42.
41. For examples see UNCTAD, World Investment Report 1994 (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 1994), ch. VIII; UNCTAD, The Social Responsibility of Transnational Corporations (New York and Geneva: United Nations, 1999), pp. 31-42.
42. See e.g. the Sainsbury's Code of Practice for Socially Responsible Trading, in Picciotto and Mayne, eds, Regulating international business, pp. 228-34; analysis by Petrina Fridd and Jessica Sainsbury, ibid., pp. 221-8. Sainsbury's is prepared to stop using suppliers who do not live up to the standards contained in its code. It is unlikely that such suppliers could sue for breach of contract, given their notice of the code.
43. See e.g. the Sainsbury's Code of Practice for Socially Responsible Trading, in Picciotto and Mayne, eds, Regulating international business, pp. 228-34; analysis by Petrina Fridd and Jessica Sainsbury, ibid., pp. 221-8. Sainsbury's is prepared to stop using suppliers who do not live up to the standards contained in its code. It is unlikely that such suppliers could sue for breach of contract, given their notice of the code.
44. See John Hatchard, 'Privatisation and accountability: developing appropriate institutions in Commonwealth Africa', in Addo, ed., Human rights standards, pp. 289-305.
45. See further Sol Picciotto, 'Linkages and international investment regulation: the antinomies of the Draft Multilateral Agreement on Investment', University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Economic Law 19, 1998, pp. 731-68; P. T. Muchlinski, 'The rise and fall of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment: where now?', International Lawyer 34, Fall 2000.
46. See further Sol Picciotto, 'Linkages and international investment regulation: the antinomies of the Draft Multilateral Agreement on Investment', University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Economic Law 19, 1998, pp. 731-68; P. T. Muchlinski, 'The rise and fall of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment: where now?', International Lawyer 34, Fall 2000.
47. OECD Guidelines, pp. 19, 21.
48. Mary Robinson, 'The business case for human rights', in Financial Times Management, Visions of ethical business (London: Financial Times Professional, 1998), p. 14.
49. See further UNCTAD, Social Responsibility, pp. 15-18; www.unglobalcompact.org; Carola Hoyos, 'Principled partnership with world business', Financial Times, 6 Sept. 2000, p. 14.
50. See further UNCTAD, Social Responsibility, pp. 15-18; www.unglobalcompact.org; Carola Hoyos, 'Principled partnership with world business', Financial Times, 6 Sept. 2000, p. 14.
51. See further UNCTAD, Social Responsibility, pp. 15-18; www.unglobalcompact.org; Carola Hoyos, 'Principled partnership with world business', Financial Times, 6 Sept. 2000, p. 14.
52. see http://www.unhchr.ch.
53. See e.g. Simon Williams, 'How principles benefit the bottom line: the experience of the Co-operative Bank', in Addo, ed., Human rights standards, pp. 63-8. See also Harvard Law School, Human Rights and Business, pp. 19-22.
54. See e.g. Simon Williams, 'How principles benefit the bottom line: the experience of the Co-operative Bank', in Addo, ed., Human rights standards, pp. 63-8. See also Harvard Law School, Human Rights and Business, pp. 19-22.
55. UNCTAD, World Investment Report 1994, pp. 197-203.
56. See Simon Zadek and Maya Forstater, 'Making civil regulation work', in Addo, ed., Human rights standards, pp. 69-70.
57. See Clapham, Human rights in the private sphere, pp. 137-8, on which this paragraph draws.
58. See ibid., p. 147.
59. Ibid., Preamble. See further Amnesty International Dutch Section and Pax Christi International, Multinational enterprises and human rights (Utrecht, November 1998), pp. 33-4.
60. Ibid., Preamble. See further Amnesty International Dutch Section and Pax Christi International, Multinational enterprises and human rights (Utrecht, November 1998), pp. 33-4.
61. AJIL 41, 1947, p. 172.
62. See A. Cassese, International law in a divided world (1986), p. 103.
63. See Menno T. Kamminga, 'Holding multinational corporations accountable for human rights abuses: a challenge for the EC', in Philip Alston, ed., The EU and human rights (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 558; Amnesty International Dutch Section and Pax Christi International, Multinational enterprises and human rights, pp. 23-5; Rosalyn Higgins, Problems and process: international law and how we use it (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), pp. 49-50.
64. See Menno T. Kamminga, 'Holding multinational corporations accountable for human rights abuses: a challenge for the EC', in Philip Alston, ed., The EU and human rights (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 558; Amnesty International Dutch Section and Pax Christi International, Multinational enterprises and human rights, pp. 23-5; Rosalyn Higgins, Problems and process: international law and how we use it (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), pp. 49-50.
65. See Menno T. Kamminga, 'Holding multinational corporations accountable for human rights abuses: a challenge for the EC', in Philip Alston, ed., The EU and human rights (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 558; Amnesty International Dutch Section and Pax Christi International, Multinational enterprises and human rights, pp. 23-5; Rosalyn Higgins, Problems and process: international law and how we use it (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), pp. 49-50.
66. 963 F.Supp. 880 US Dist Ct, C.D.Cal, 25 March 1997, noted in AJIL 92, 1998, pp. 309-14. See also Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Company 96 Civ 8389 (SDNY).
67. 963 F.Supp. 880 US Dist Ct, C.D.Cal, 25 March 1997, noted in AJIL 92, 1998, pp. 309-14. See also Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Company 96 Civ 8389 (SDNY).
68. 28 USC s.1350.
69. US v. Flick, 6 Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10 (1952); US v. Carl Krauch, ibid., vol. 8; US v. Alfred Krupp, ibid., vol. 9; Flick v. Johnson, 85 US App. DC 70, 174 F.2d 983 (DC Cir 1949).
70. Doe v. Unocal, US Dist Ct, C.D.Cal. 31 August 2000, 2000 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 13327. See also William Branigin, 'Claim against Unocal rejected: judge cites evidence of abuses in Burma but no jurisdiction', Washington Post, 8 Sept. 2000, p. E10.
71. In this regard see also Kadic v. Karadzic, 70 F.3d 232 (2d Cir. 1995), where it was held that the Alien Tort Claims Act reaches the conduct of private parties provided that their conduct is undertaken under the colour of state authority or violates a norm of international law that is recognized as extending to the conduct of private parties.
72. USCA 2d Cir.,14 Sept. 2000: 2000 US App. LEXIS 23274.
73. 28 USC s.1350 App (1991).
74. See Kamminga, 'Holding multinational corporations accountable', pp. 559, 569.
75. See e.g. Young James and Webster v. UK (1981) E.Ct.HR Series A vol. 44; X and Y v. The Netherlands (1985) E.Ct.HR Series A vol. 91; Arzte für das Leben (1988) E. Ct.HR Series A, vol. 139. See further Harris, O'Boyle and Warbrick, The law of the European Convention on Human Rights, pp. 19-22; A. Drzemczewski, European Human Rights Convention in domestic law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983), ch. 8; Clapham, Human rights in the private sphere, ch. 7.
76. See e.g. Young James and Webster v. UK (1981) E.Ct.HR Series A vol. 44; X and Y v. The Netherlands (1985) E.Ct.HR Series A vol. 91; Arzte für das Leben (1988) E. Ct.HR Series A, vol. 139. See further Harris, O'Boyle and Warbrick, The law of the European Convention on Human Rights, pp. 19-22; A. Drzemczewski, European Human Rights Convention in domestic law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983), ch. 8; Clapham, Human rights in the private sphere, ch. 7.
77. See e.g. Young James and Webster v. UK (1981) E.Ct.HR Series A vol. 44; X and Y v. The Netherlands (1985) E.Ct.HR Series A vol. 91; Arzte für das Leben (1988) E. Ct.HR Series A, vol. 139. See further Harris, O'Boyle and Warbrick, The law of the European Convention on Human Rights, pp. 19-22; A. Drzemczewski, European Human Rights Convention in domestic law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983), ch. 8; Clapham, Human rights in the private sphere, ch. 7.
78. Costello-Roberts v. UK, E.Ct.HR (1993) Series A vol. 247.
79. See Amnesty International Dutch Section and Pax Christi International, Multinational enterprises and human rights, pp. 50-1.
80. See Amnesty International UK Business Group, Human rights guidelines for companies (London: Amnesty International, 1998), pp. 8-11.
81. Amnesty International Dutch Section and Pax Christi International, Multinational enterprises and human rights, pp. 52-4.
82. Ibid., ch. 5.
83. Baxi, 'Voices of suffering', pp. 161-9.
84. See Michael Edwardes, 'Make the protesters accountable', Financial Times, 20 June 2000, p. 27; The Foreign Policy Centre, 'NGO rights and responsibilities: a new deal for global governance' (2000) at www.fpc.org.uk.
85. See Michael Edwardes, 'Make the protesters accountable', Financial Times, 20 June 2000, p. 27; The Foreign Policy Centre, 'NGO rights and responsibilities: a new deal for global governance' (2000) at www.fpc.org.uk.
86. See 'Doing business in difficult places', The Economist, 20 May 2000, p. 127.
87. For a developed application of this argument to fundamental labour rights see Bob Hepple, 'A race to the top? International investment guidelines and corporate codes of conduct', Comparative Labour Law and Policy Journal 20, 1999, pp. 347-63.
88. See further Anita Ramasastry, 'Secrets and lies? Swiss banks and international human rights', Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 31, 1998, pp. 325-456.
89. See Kamminga, 'Holding multinational corporations accountable', pp. 562-3; Muchlinski, Multinational enterprises and the law, ch. 9; P. T. Muchlinski, 'Corporations in international litigation: problems of jurisdiction and the United Kingdom asbestos cases', International and Comparative Law Quarterly 50, 2001, pp. 1-25.
90. See Kamminga, 'Holding multinational corporations accountable', pp. 562-3; Muchlinski, Multinational enterprises and the law, ch. 9; P. T. Muchlinski, 'Corporations in international litigation: problems of jurisdiction and the United Kingdom asbestos cases', International and Comparative Law Quarterly 50, 2001, pp. 1-25.
91. See Kamminga, 'Holding multinational corporations accountable', pp. 562-3; Muchlinski, Multinational enterprises and the law, ch. 9; P. T. Muchlinski, 'Corporations in international litigation: problems of jurisdiction and the United Kingdom asbestos cases', International and Comparative Law Quarterly 50, 2001, pp. 1-25.
92. Corporate Code of Conduct Bill 2000, The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, draft of 28 August 2000.
93. See Kamminga, 'Holding multinational corporations accountable'.