In the last decades, the relationship between business practices and human rights has increasingly come to the fore in international law. While states remain the ultimate duty bearers in the protection of human rights, it is generally recognised that corporations are expected to comply with international human rights law. A general consensus exists over a baseline responsibility to respect human rights, yet no agreement is to be found on whether a legally binding obligation of the same content exists.
This book seeks to provide a legal analysis of the role of general principles of law in the business and human rights field. The inclusion of ‘general principles of law’ in Article 38(1)(c) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, provides for an interpretative legal technique and a source of international law. Following these two functions, this study adopts a three-tier approach. First, it focuses on the role of general principles as an interpretive tool of the human rights obligations bearing on states with regard to corporate activities. Second, it considers whether and to what extent principles can contribute to develop corporate obligations. Third, it asks whether a principle on corporate liability has emerged or is emerging in international law.
The objective is not to provide a “silver bullet” for addressing corporate human rights violations, but rather to explore legal arguments based on existing norms of international law. The overall aim of the study is to contribute to current efforts to assess the existence, content and enforceability of corporate obligations under international human rights law.