Authors

Karin Buhmann

Date Issued

2014

Description

This article analyses the United Nations (UN) Guidelines on Business and Human Rights adopted in 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council from the perspective of Transnational Business Governance Interactions (TBGI) analytical framework (Eberlein et al. 2014). The article identifies and discusses dimensions of interaction and components of regulatory governance which characterise the Guiding Principles, focusing in particular on the rule formation and implementation. The article notes that the Guiding Principles actively enrolled other actors for the rule-making process ensuring support in a politically and legally volatile field. It identifies mutual 'piggy-backing' by the Guiding Principles and other TBGI Schemes, complementing the Principles' very limited limitation and enforcement modalities and lending support to the rule-making and implementation of other schemes. The article concludes that the UN Guiding Principles are unique in several respects of relevance to transnational business governance interaction and indicate the relevance of the TBGI approach to public regulatory transnational business governance initiatives. The analysis of the Guiding Principles as interactional transnational business governance suggests that this form of governance offers prospects for public institutions as a means toward regulating global sustainability concerns.

Subject

UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (2011), TBGI analytical framework, transnational law, OECD's Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, orchestrating responsible business conduct

Disciplines

Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics | Business Organizations Law | Human Rights Law | International Business | Transnational Law

Document Type

Working Paper

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