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Beyond Guilty Verdicts: Human Rights Litigation and its Impact on Corporations’ Human Rights Policies

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  • Judith Schrempf-Stirling

    (University of Richmond)

  • Florian Wettstein

    (University of St. Gallen)

Abstract

During the last years, there has been an increasing discussion on the role of business in human rights violations and an increase in human rights litigation against companies. The result of human rights litigation has been rather disillusioning because no corporation has been found guilty and most cases have been dismissed. We argue that it may nevertheless be a useful instrument for the advancement of the business and human rights agenda. We examine the determinants of successful human rights litigation in terms of judicial, educational, and regulatory effects. This article reviews more than 40 corporate foreign direct liability cases and their effects on corporate human rights policies and conduct. The review shows that most corporations adjusted their human rights policies and adopted additional measures to cope with human rights issues during or shortly after the legal proceedings. Opening legal channels for human rights litigation may be one way for governments to incentivize firms to respect human rights. These findings have implications for the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as well as on our interpretation of the most recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kiobel v. Shell.

Suggested Citation

  • Judith Schrempf-Stirling & Florian Wettstein, 2017. "Beyond Guilty Verdicts: Human Rights Litigation and its Impact on Corporations’ Human Rights Policies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(3), pages 545-562, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:145:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-015-2889-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-015-2889-5
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    3. Maximilian J. L. Schormair & Lara M. Gerlach, 2020. "Corporate Remediation of Human Rights Violations: A Restorative Justice Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 475-493, December.
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    5. Lopatta, Kerstin & Tideman, Sebastian A. & Scheil, Carolin & Makarem, Naser, 2023. "The current state of corporate human rights disclosure of the global top 500 business enterprises: Measurement and determinants," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    6. Mallika Tamvada, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility and accountability: a new theoretical foundation for regulating CSR," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-14, December.
    7. Elisa GIULIANI, 2020. "Putting human rights into regional growth agendas: Where we stand and where we ought to go," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2042, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Sep 2020.
    8. Wettstein, Florian & Giuliani, Elisa & Santangelo, Grazia D. & Stahl, Günter K., 2019. "International business and human rights: A research agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 54-65.
    9. Luciano Ciravegna & Federica Nieri, 2022. "Business and Human Rights: A Configurational View of the Antecedents of Human Rights Infringements by Emerging Market Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(2), pages 431-450, August.
    10. M. Tina Dacin & Jeffrey S. Harrison & David Hess & Sheila Killian & Julia Roloff, 2022. "Business Versus Ethics? Thoughts on the Future of Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(3), pages 863-877, October.

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