Enforcing Global Corporate Social Accountability in Europe

Abstract

The economy operates globally but is regulated locally. Local regulation however sometimes fails to enforce fundamental environmental, labour, and human rights. At the same time, due to significant legal hurdles, corporations are rarely held accountable in their home states for overseas violations of basic standards. Against this backdrop, the European Parliament has repeatedly called for a framework on global corporate social accountability in Europe.

After discussing the theoretical background and current regulation in this field, this book examines the legal constraints that the European treaties and international law impose on regulatory instruments that take account of corporate abuse abroad. The analysis explores the legal limits of implementing global corporate social accountability via European measures such as the publication of violations, policies concerning export credits, subsidies, and other financial benefits, public procurement, fines, trade measures, labelling, reporting obligations, and private enforcement.

This cross-cutting examination reveals some of the main obstacles in the fabric of the European and international system: WTO law restricts the use of trade measures, labelling, and public procurement as means to achieve social or environmental goals; customary international law circumscribes regulation of foreign companies worldwide; and the EU Treaties impose limitations on European labour and human rights legislation. Ultimately, however, the analysis demonstrates that there is considerable scope for global corporate social accountability in Europe.