The corporate general counsel who respects human rights

Abstract

Global soft law (notably the 2011 UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights ‘UNGPs’), multistakeholder norms, the business practices and policies of leading companies, the expectations of investors and stakeholders, and hard law in a growing number of jurisdictions, all expect that businesses should respect human rights in their operations and in their value chains. The COVID 19 pandemic has made it urgent for corporate legal departments, led by the general counsel, to support the company’s commitment to respect human rights. This means using human rights due diligence to improve human rights performance, rather than as a paper exercise intended primarily to avoid legal liability. This paper provides practical guidance on how corporate general counsel can help their companies conduct authentic and robust human rights due diligence by acting as technical legal experts, wise counsellors, and leaders.