Corporate Human Rights Responsibility and Multinationality in Emerging Markets – From a Developing Notion to the Legal Dimension

Abstract

The principal aim of this article is to highlight the evolving concepts and ideas of Corporate Human Rights Responsibility (CHRR) under international law and how it relates to other concepts of corporate responsibility. The point of departure is the observation that there is the need to close an existing impunity gap of Western and emerging market MNCs’ complicity in Human Rights violations committed in the developing world. Two case studies from India and China highlight the present accountability gap. This article understands that the key issue with CHRR is the absence of a binding regime of binding norms, paired with the observation that implementation and enforcement issues seriously hamper any such development. Based on related initiatives such as CSR and ‘Good Corporate Practice,’ this article calls for an approach which is borne by a multitude of stakeholders, from consumers, employees to executive directors. Thus, the main research objective of this paper is to examine the concept of ‘Corporate Human Rights Responsibility’ in the context of Multinationality in emerging markets such as China and India and thereby to assess this distinctive notion through the prism of the legal dimension.