College of Social Sciences and International Studies
Business and Human Rights Law
Module LAW3108C for 2021/2
Module LAW3108C for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
LAW3108C: Business and Human Rights Law
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of the following topics:
- The origins and evolving nature of the modern corporation.
- The intersection of business practices and human rights protection, with case studies from several sectors, including, for example, the garment industry, pharmaceuticals, and the extractive industries.
- The evolution and shortcomings of accountability under State-centric human rights and the limits of corporate social responsibility.
- The development and implementation of an international legal framework specific to business and human rights, and the role of business in upholding international human rights law.
- Judicial and non-judicial remedies.
- Future developments.
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 26.5 | 123.5 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 11 | 11 x 1 hour lectures |
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 7.5 | 5 x 1.5 hour seminars |
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 8 | 4 x 2 hour workshops |
| Guided independent study | 73.5 | Preparation for scheduled learning and teaching sessions, including pre-reading and the completion of learning activities. |
| Guided independent study | 50 | Assessment preparation |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
- ELE – College to provide hyperlink to appropriate pages
- British Institute of International and Comparative Law, Business and Human Rights: www.biicl.org/categories/business-and-human-rights
- Business & Human Rights Resource Centre: www.business-humanrights.org/en
- Institute for Human Rights and Business: www.ihrb.org
- UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Business and Human Rights: www.ohchr.org/en/issues/business/pages/businessindex.aspx
- UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights: www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Business/Pages/WGHRandtransnationalcorporationsandotherbusiness.aspx
- UN Forum on Business and Human Rights: www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Business/Forum/Pages/ForumonBusinessandHumanRights.aspx
Other Learning Resources
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (adopted 16 December 1966, entered into force 23 March 1976) 999 UNTS 171.
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (adopted 16 December 1966, entered into force 3 January 1976) 993 UNTS 3.
- UN Human Rights Council, ‘Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, John Ruggie, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework’ (21 March 2011) UN Doc A/HRC/17/31.
- Legally Binding Instrument to Regulate, in International Human Rights Law, the Activities of Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises (Zero Draft Text) (16 August 2018): www.ohchr.org/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/wgtranscorp/session3/draftlbi.pdf
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
- Addo MK, The Legal Nature of International Human Rights (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2010).
- Buhmann K, Roseberry L and Morsing M (eds), Corporate Social Human Rights Responsibilities Global Legal and Management Perspectives (Palgrave Macmillan 2011).
- Deva S and Bilchitz D (eds), Human Rights Obligations of Business: Beyond the Corporate Responsibility to Respect (Cambridge University Press 2013).
- Deva S and Bilchitz D (eds), Building a Treaty on Business and Human Rights
Context and Contours (Cambridge University Press 2018). - Evans M (ed), International Law (5th edn, Oxford University Press 2018).
- Newton E, The Business of Human Rights: Best Practice and the UN Guiding Principles (Routledge 2019).
- Palombo D, Business and Human Rights: The Obligations of the European Home States (Hart 2020).
- Rodriguez-Garavito C, Business and Human Rights: Beyond the End of the Beginning (Cambridge University Press 2017).
- Smith R, International Human Rights Law (9th edn, Oxford University Press 2020).
