This book provides a sustained treatment of the politico-legal context and content of a proposed business and human rights treaty.

An innovative textbook setting out a systematic approach to business and human rights.

Explores the conceptual and legal underpinnings of global governance approaches to business and human rights, with an emphasis on the UN Guiding Principles.

This book critically evaluates the Ruggie Framework and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and investigates the normative foundations as well as the nature, extent and enforcement of corporate obligations for the realisation of human rights.

"This publication contains the 'Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework', which were developed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. The Special Representative annexed the Guiding Principles to his final report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/17/31), which also includes an introduction to the Guiding Principles and an overview of the process that led to their development. The Human Rights Council endorsed the Guiding Principles in its resolution 17/4 of 16 June 2011."--P. iv.

In a global economy, multinational companies often operate in jurisdictions where governments are either unable or unwilling to uphold even the basic human rights of their citizens. The expectation that companies respect human rights in their own operations and in their business relationships is now a business reality that corporations need to respond to. Business and Human Rights: From Principles to Practice is the first comprehensive and interdisciplinary textbook that addresses these issues. It examines the regulatory framework that grounds the business and human rights debate and highlights the business and legal challenges faced by companies and stakeholders in improving respect for human rights, exploring such topics as: the regulatory framework that grounds the business and human rights debate, challenges faced by companies and stakeholders in improving human rights, industry-specific human rights standards, current mechanisms to hold corporations to account, future challenges for business and human rights. With supporting case studies throughout, this text provides an overview of current themes in the field and guidance on practical implementation, demonstrating that a thorough understanding of the human rights challenges faced by business is now vital in any business context.

A new wave of international discussion on an international binding instrument on business and human rights was triggered by the proposal for a business and human rights treaty by some states, originally represented by Ecuador and South Africa. Through its resolution A/HRC/RES/26/9 in June 2014, the Human Rights Council decided to establish “an open-ended intergovernmental working group” to elaborate “an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises”. Despite the Council mandate, the debate on a binding approach still continues and the necessity of a business human rights treaty remains controversial. This thesis addresses a three-fold research question on the proposal of a business and human rights treaty: 1) What is the state of play in the ongoing debate of a binding proposal? 2) Is it necessary to elaborate a business and human rights treaty? 3) If one is deemed necessary, how should a business and human rights treaty be formulated? The research question is answered by a combination of methods; including empirical research, literature review and legal analysis. The approach of this thesis is both empirical and legal. In Chapter Two, this thesis takes a close observation of the ongoing debate on the proposal of a binding instrument on business and human rights. In Chapter Three, this thesis conducts a comprehensive examination on the necessity of a business and human rights treaty. It evaluates the necessity of a treaty from four significant issues of international legalization in the field of business and human rights. These issues are: the legal need of a business and human rights treaty in international legal framework, the political as well as legal achievability of a treaty on business and human rights, and the potential implications of elaborating a treaty on business and human rights. In Chapter Four, this thesis provides a constructive proposal on the specific legal formulation of a business and human rights treaty. The proposal discusses four general issues including: the duty-bearers, scope, extraterritoriality and function of a business and human rights treaty. The proposal suggests seven of the core provisions of a business and human rights treaty and provides commentaries for each provision. Firstly, it is shown that while the necessity of a business and human rights treaty is still a core concern in the ongoing debate, potential issues have emerged. Further, it is deemed that it is necessary to elaborate a business and human rights treaty. Finally, it is suggested that a binding instrument on business and human rights should be a framework convention on strengthening the state obligation to protect human rights against abuses by businesses.