Business and Human Rights

This course will consider the relationship of the modern public corporation, particularly transnational corporations, to fundamental human rights, including both the civil and political (C/P) rights recognized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The corporation¿s purpose and role will be considered from the perspective of shareholders, management and the community at large. We will, in particular, consider what claims the community may legitimately assert with respect to corporate conduct, both in the U.S. and abroad, relating to abuses by host or home-country governments (eg. detention and torture of critics, suppression of speech, corruption) or by the corporation itself (eg. environmental pollution, labor rights, consumer safety), as well as the role of such corporations or their shareholders in undermining democratic institutions or accelerating economic inequality.