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 ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
26.5123.5

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled learning and teaching activities1111 x 1 hour lectures
Scheduled learning and teaching activities7.55 x 1.5 hour seminars
Scheduled learning and teaching activities84 x 2 hour workshops
Guided independent study73.5Preparation for scheduled learning and teaching sessions, including pre-reading and the completion of learning activities.
Guided independent study50Assessment preparation

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

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

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessmentSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Research posterA1 (including visuals and a maximum of 500 words)1-8Individual oral and written feedback; whole cohort oral feedback

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
10000

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment% of creditSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Research paper1002,500 words1-8Individual written feedback
0
0
0
0
0

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessmentForm of re-assessmentILOs re-assessedTimescale for re-assessment
Research paper (2,500 words)Research paper (2,500 words)1-8August/September re-assessment period

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).