"A EUROPEAN LEGISLATION ON CORPORATE DUTY OF VIGILANCE AND LEGAL LIABILITY? An idea whose time has come", Feb 2021

As things stand today, there is still no binding European or international legal framework, firstly to establish the legal liability of multinational corporations in the area of human rights and environmental protection, and secondly to guarantee access to justice and remedies for those affected by the activities of multinationals...

A diverse coalition [...] has emerged, calling for enshrining the principles on the legal liability of corporations for harm they cause or contribute to throughout their value chains...

The issue is twofold:

• Recognising companies’ duty of vigilance to identify risks and prevent, through effective measures, any human rights violation and any serious environmental damage in their value chain, throughout the world.
• Establishing the legal liability of parent and instructing companies, in both civil and criminal matters, in order to provide access to justice for individuals and communities whose human rights or environment are abused by the activities of business enterprises established or operating within the European Union. This applies whether the violations are perpetrated by those business enterprises directly, or through their subsidiaries, suppliers, subcontractors and business relationships...