OECD National Contact Point Specific Instances: When ‘Soft Law’ Bites?

Abstract

This article explores procedures before National Contact Points (NCPs) that are tasked with the implementation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and their use as a mechanism for the resolution of disputes between corporates and stakeholders in their business conduct. The fruit of a ‘soft law’ framework, NCPs offer a non-judicial mechanism in which the parties may use NCPs’ ‘good offices’ to broker agreement using mediation or conciliation. The article examines the scope of NCPs’ competence and the potential diversity of outcomes. Although NCP procedures are ultimately non-binding, this article explores various ways in which this ‘soft law’ mechanism may ‘bite’, against the backdrop of the growth in sustainable finance, sustainability regulation, and the growing number of disputes relating to responsible business conduct. The article considers whether, by means of the interaction of the NCP mechanism with these emerging fields, we may see the mechanism start to ‘bite’.