Companies are becoming bigger and bigger, some even wealthier than smaller countries. Despite that, their duties to respect human rights cannot compare to those of states, and can easily be avoided by choosing a state, in which they incorporate. With that, they choose a legal order that suits them best, enables them free business with little responsibilities. The problem is that the level and mechanisms of state responsibility in such cases of transnational corporations do not come even close to unifying on the international level. Weaker parties are not protected sufficiently.
The purpose of the master thesis “Protection of Human Rights in the Context of Transnational Entrepreneurship” is to provide an answer to the question, whether the unification and adoption of legally binding standards of human rights protection in business would be the right solution. In doing that, it will first review the existing mechanisms of human rights protection on a global level, then continue with a description of four tragic incidents as examples of human rights abuses in business. The third part will focus on inspection of “soft” law, especially the UN initiatives when determining clear rules for transnational corporations, with an emphasis on the Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Exactly such “soft” standards might represent the beginning of the formation of a legally binding duty and legal standard.
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