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¹⁰ E.g. amnesty international, Human Rights Guidelines for Companies, available at: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/business/pubs/hrgc.shtml.Google Scholar

¹¹ Declaration of Human Duties and Responsibilities, available at: http://www.cdp-hrc.uottawa.ca/publicat/valencia/valenc1.html.Google Scholar

¹² E.g. Basic Code of Conduct covering Labor Practices adopted by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, available at: http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991209513&Language=EN.Google Scholar

¹³ E.g. Workplace Code of Conduct initiated by Fair Labor Association for the Apparel Industry Partnership, available at: http://www.fairlabor.org/index.html.Google Scholar

¹⁴ E.g. Shell International Petroleum Company, Statement of General Business Principles, in: Business and Human Rights – A Management Primer (1999).Google Scholar

¹⁵ E.g. Social Investment Forum, available at: http://www.socialinvest.org/.Google Scholar

¹⁶ Sub-Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Fifty-fourth session, Human Rights Principles and Responsibilities for Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises, E/CN.4/Sub.2/2002/WG.2/WP.1/Add.1 of 24 May 2002, para. 4, 5.Google Scholar

¹⁷ See also Sub-Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Fifty-second session, Report of the sessional working group on the working methods and activities of transnational corporations on its second session, E/CN.4/Sub.2/2000/12, of 28 August 2000, para. 26.Google Scholar

¹⁸ Sub-Commission (note 16), para. 17.Google Scholar

¹⁹ Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Fifty-second session, Principles relating to the human rights conduct of companies, E/CN.4/Sub.2/2000/WG.2/WP.1 of 25 May 2000, para. 5.Google Scholar

²⁰ E.g. Nongovernmental organizations welcome the new U.N. norms on transnational business, press statement of 13 August 2003, available at: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGPOL300132003.Google Scholar

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²² Commission on Human Rights, Res. on the Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities, Report of the Commission on Human Rights in 1949 (Fifth Session), E/1371 (1949), para. 13, sect. A. Regarding the expansion of the Sub-Commission's mandate, see Asbjorn Eide, The Sub-Commission of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, in: The United Nations and Human Rights, 211, 213-226 (Philip Alston ed., 1992).Google Scholar

²³ Res. 1998/8 of 20 August 1998.Google Scholar

²⁴ Res. 2001/2 of 15 August 2001.Google Scholar

²⁵ Sub-Commission (note 17), para. 27, 34–36.Google Scholar

²⁶ The term “transnational corporation” refers to an economic entity operating in more than one country or a cluster of economic entities operating in two or more countries -whatever their legal form, whether in their home country or country of activity and whether taken individually or collectively. See Norms (note 1), I. Definitions, para. 20.Google Scholar

The phrase “other business enterprise” includes any business entity, regardless of the international or domestic nature of its activities, including a transnational corporation, contractor, subcontractor, supplier, licensee or distributor; the corporate, partnership or other legal form used to establish the business entity; and the nature of the ownership of the entity. These Norms shall be presumed to apply, as a matter of practice, if the business enterprise has any relation with a transnational corporation, the impact of its activities is not entirely local or the activities involve violations of the right to security as indicated in paragraphs 3 and 4. See Norms (note 1), I. Definitions, para. 21.Google Scholar

²⁷ BBC World Service (note 21); Sub-Commission (note 16), para. 20, 21.Google Scholar

²⁸ ILO Tripartite Declaration (note 6).Google Scholar

²⁹ OECD Guidelines (note 7).Google Scholar

³⁰ Sub-Commission (note 16), para. 25.Google Scholar

³¹ Id., para. 24.Google Scholar

³² Id., para. 22.Google Scholar

³³ Sub-Commission (note 17), para. 33.Google Scholar

³⁴ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, GA Res. 217 (III) of 10 December 1948, preamble.Google Scholar

³⁵ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (id.); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (16 December 1966, GA Res. 22000 A (XXI), 21 UN GAOR Supp. 16 at 49 (entered into force 3 January 1976)); and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (16 December 1966, GA Res. 2200 A (XXI), 21 UN GAOR Supp. 16 at 52, (entered into force 23 March 1976)).Google Scholar

³⁶ Ronald Harry Coase, The Firm, the Market, and the Law (1988).Google Scholar

³⁷ Sub-Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Fifty-second session, Principles relating to the human rights conduct of companies, Working paper prepared by Mr. D. Weissbrodt, E/CN.4/Sub.2/2000/WG.2/WP.1 of 25 May 2000, para. 11-14.Google Scholar

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³⁹ Res. 2003/16 (note 2).Google Scholar

⁴⁰ Sub-Commission (note 3), para. 1 a.Google Scholar

⁴¹ Id., para. 1 b.Google Scholar

⁴² United Kingdom v. Tesch et al. (Zyclon B Gas Case), Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals 93, 102 (1947).Google Scholar

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⁴⁴ See e.g. amnesty international, Defend Labour Rights, action focus on Guatemala, available at: http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/tunion/1998/guatem.htm.Google Scholar

⁴⁵ Sub-Commission (note 3), para. 3 a, b.Google Scholar

⁴⁶ According to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and Its Follow-Up of 18 June 1998, the fundamental rights are freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor; the effective abolition of child labor; and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.Google Scholar

⁴⁷ Sub-Commission (note 3), para. 7 b.Google Scholar

⁴⁸ Id., 7 c, d.Google Scholar

⁴⁹ Id., 7 f.Google Scholar

⁵⁰ Id., 8 a-e.Google Scholar

⁵¹ Id., 9 b.Google Scholar

⁵² Id., 9 d.Google Scholar

⁵³ Id., 9 e.Google Scholar

⁵⁴ Id., 10 a.Google Scholar

⁵⁵ Id., 10 b.Google Scholar

⁵⁶ Id., 10 c.Google Scholar

⁵⁷ Andrew Clapham/ Scott Jerbi, Categories of Corporate Complicity in Human Rights Abuses, 24 Hastings Journal of International and Comparative Law Review, 339 (2001); William Schabas, Enforcing humanitarian international law: Catching the accomplices, 42 Revue Internationale de la Croix-Rouge, 439 (2001).Google Scholar

⁵⁸ Sub-Commission (note 3), para. 13 c.Google Scholar

⁵⁹ 28 United States Code § 1350: “(t)he district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States.” The latest and most authoritative judgment, though not on the substance of the case, was rendered by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth District in Doe I et al. v. Unocal of 18 September 2002. There is an abundant literature on the subject, see e.g. Craig Forcese, ATCA's Achilles Heel: Corporate Complicity, International Law and the Alien Tort Claims Act, 26 Yale Journal of International Law 487 (2001).Google Scholar

⁶⁰ See e.g. Doelder, Hans de/ Tiedemann, Klaus (ed.), La criminalisation du comportement collectif – Criminal liability of corporations (1996); Albin Eser/ Barbara Huber/ Karin Cornils (ed.), Einzelverantwortung und Mitverantwortung im Strafrecht (1998).Google Scholar

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⁶² Andrew Clapham, The Question of Jurisdiction Under International Criminal Law Over Legal Persons, in: Liability of Multinational Corporations under International Law, 139 (Menno Kamminga/ Saman Zia-Zarifi eds., 2000).Google Scholar

⁶³ The phrases “human rights” and “international human rights” include civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights, as set forth in the International Bill of Human Rights and other human rights treaties, as well as the right to development and rights recognized by international humanitarian law, international refugee law, international labor law and other relevant instruments adopted within the UN system. See Norms (note 1), I Definitions, para. 23.Google Scholar

⁶⁴ Sub-Commission (note 2), Res. 2003/16, para. 1 and 2.Google Scholar

⁶⁵ Id., para. 3.Google Scholar

⁶⁶ Id., para. 4.Google Scholar

⁶⁷ E.g. Declaration (GA Res. 1904 (XVIII) (1963) 52-56), and subsequently Convention, on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (GA Res. 2106 A (XX) (1965), 56-69; Eide (note 22), 242-245.Google Scholar

⁶⁸ Sub-Commission (note 2), para. 5.Google Scholar

⁶⁹ Id., para. 6. The Sub-Commission is known for pushing the limits of its mandate, see Eide (note 22), 213-226.Google Scholar