"Attacks on the rule of law and the threat to business and human rights" 21 Nov. 2025

This paper examines how attacks on the rule of law (ROL) can heighten the risk of business-related human rights abuses worldwide. For context, the UN Human Rights Council acknowledged in 2023 that human rights, democracy and the rule of law are interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of an ‘environment in which countries can promote sustainable development, protect individuals from discrimination and ensure equal access to justice.

... The ROL is fundamental to all three pillars of the UNGPs. 

• under Pillar One, the State’s duty to protect human rights, a strong ROL informs businesses about what they must and must not do in terms of respecting human rights, through means such as legislation, investigation, and adjudication;
• under Pillar Two, the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, a strong ROL incentivises businesses to respect human rights as a matter of legal compliance. It can help provide certainty to both businesses and those whose human rights they might impact, even though domestic law does not limit the responsibility to respect human rights; and
• under Pillar Three, a strong ROL reinforces access to remedy by providing persons whose human rights have been abused by business with the ability to hold corporate actors accountable for, and require them to remediate, the harms they have caused or contributed to.

... [F]oreign governments, as well as US and foreign companies, law firms and universities, are increasingly confronted with uncertainty when considering individual transactions and agreements with the US government, as well as US companies and other institutions, due to questions surrounding consistent enforcement.

... The legal profession, along with other key stakeholders, can play a crucial role in safeguarding the ROL, including its application to business and human rights. As noted above, attacks on the ROL threaten the ability and willingness of states and businesses to fulfill their human rights duties and responsibilities. International experience has demonstrated that coordinated and collaborative action among all affected stakeholders is essential to confront this threat and to advance respect for the ROL. Achieving this involves building collaborative alliances among civil society, businesses and governments dedicated to upholding the ROL, both domestically and internationally.