20 YEARS OF
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I. THE ACT’S SCOPE OF APPLICATION ...
II. THE OBLIGATIONS IMPOSED BY THE ACT ...
III. ON ENFORCEMENT OF THE ACT ...
IV. ON THE ACT’S PLACE IN THE INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT ...
Adopted in 2021, the bill was a long-overdue legislative starting point with room for improvement, expected to come at the EU level, says the European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ)
From 2023, German companies must ensure that human rights are respected along their supply chains.
While the discussions on sustainable corporate governance and supply chain due diligence continue at EU level and a proposal for a directive has been postponed several times, Germany is sending a strong signal.
On many crucial points, policy-makers weren’t able to withstand the massive pressure to weaken the text exerted by business associations and some political representatives. As a result, the act risks losing effectiveness and falls short of upholding and implementing the standards set in UNGPs on important points.
On 22 July 2021, the act was published in the Federal Law Gazette. This represents the first time that the responsibility of German companies to respect human rights in global supply chains has been given a legal foundation.
"A good start, but victims deserve more" - commentary by the European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ)
"The law came about primarily due to pressure from civil society, but was massively weakened by business associations in negotiations", writes ECCHR.
For the first time, a law in Germany obliges companies to take responsibility for the people in their supply chains.
In this piece, Nora Jauer and Justine Batura argue that the current draft of the German Supply Chain Act is not ambitious enough and lags behind international standards
by Löning - Human Rights & Responsible Business
A close review of the draft raises significant questions about several specific formulations in the law, and how they may be interpreted in practice, writes John Ruggie.
A publication of the Initiative Lieferkettengesetz March 2021
Johanna Kusch and Claudia Saller argue that it’s now up to the German parliament to improve the law and add the missing pieces.
Proposed measure falls short of international norms, says Human Rights Watch
Brussels should use the German announcement as a springboard for a Europe-wide framework that provides judicial remedy for overseas victims, says the European Coalition for Corporate Justice.
Lawyer Robert Grabosch summarises what is known so far about the proposal, which, once officially approved by the Government cabinet, will go to the German Parliament.
The German Government has reached an agreement on mandatory human rights due diligence legislation.
Initiative Lieferkettengesetz welcomed the German Government's announcement but criticised that the proposal does not include additional civil liability. They are now calling on MPs who still need to vote on the proposal to ensure the due diligence requirements are UNGP-aligned.
A position paper on the key elements for a Due Diligence Act has recently been leaked in Germany. Relevant companies may face potential civil liability for damages for any human rights violations occurring where they have failed to take adequate steps. In this post, Mina Aryobsei and Marius Scherb look at the main aspects of this new draft law and the wider context in which it has been published.