7299. Corporations and Human Rights

From technology to extractive to apparel companies, the relationship between transnational business activity and human rights is at the forefront of the public agenda and has changed the nature of legal practice. This seminar will introduce students to the core themes, and the major regulatory initiatives, in this field. Topics will include: the status of corporate actors under international law, forms of industry self-regulation, transnational litigation against corporations under the Alien Tort Statute, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, human rights impact assessments, shareholder activism, and supply chain disclosure regimes. The course materials are drawn from a number of sources, including documentary film, academic journals, articles in the popular and business press, reports by human rights monitoring groups, petitions filed before courts and administrative agencies, U.N. materials, and the governing documents for voluntary corporate initiatives. Suggested Preparation: Business Organizations, International Law, or International Human Rights, may be helpful. But these courses are not required. [Not open to students who have previously taken Corporate Governance and Sustainability.]