UN Draft Treaty on Transnational Business Enterprises and Human Rights in the Making: Raising the Global Bar in Corporate Litigation

Upon the initiative of the United Nations Human Rights Council (the UNHRC), a new legally binding agreement regulating transnational business enterprises’ human rights violations is likely on its way. If / when the Treaty is adopted and enters into force, it will have a significant impact on corporate liability. The future legal value of the Draft Treaty will be that of enforceable regulation, provided of course that it is adopted in its current form. The future Treaty will in that case install a much stricter human rights regime for transnational business corporations. Violating obligations under the Treaty can result in victims claiming remedies before national courts, including the right to ecological restoration and environmental remediation. Ecological restoration and environmental remediation are some responses to climate change, and thereby this Treaty is likely to impact future climate litigation. This blog post analyzes the current draft text of the treaty and explains how victims of human rights violations might, in the future, rely on the Treaty in court, thereby impacting corporate litigation, also related to climate change. Thereby, actions against corporate entities for climate-related human rights harms can be brought before the courts.