Multinational Corporations and Human Rights

See generally, Kinley David , ‘Human Rights as Legally Binding or Merely Relevant’, in Kinley David and Bottomley Stephen (eds), Commercial Law and Human Rights, Aldershot, 2001, pp.25–44.

See generally, Harvard Law Review Notes, 'Developments In The Law — International Criminal Law: V. Corporate Liability for Violations of International Human Rights Law, (2001) 114 Harvard Law Review 2025.

See Meeran Richard , ‘Liability of Multinational Corporations: A Critical Stage in the UK’, in Kamminga Menno and Zia-Zarifi Sam (eds), Liability of Multinational Corporations under International Law, Kluwer Law International, The Hague, 2000, pp.251–64.

See Joseph Sarah , ‘An Overview of the Human Rights Accountability of Multinational Enterprises’, in Kamminga and Zia-Zarifi , above, ref 3, pp.77–9.

These are: in Australia — Corporate Code of Conduct Bill 2000; a Private Member's Bill sponsored by Senator Vicki Bourne (introduced in September 2000); and in the US — the Corporate Code of Conduct Bill 2000; HR 4596 IH, introduced in the House of Representatives in June 2000 by Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. The bill before the Australian Parliament lapsed with the recent general election.

See Kamminga Menno , ‘Holding Multinational Corporations Accountable for Human Rights Abuses: A Challenge for the EC’, in Alston Philip (ed), The EU and Human Rights, OUP, 2000, pp.565–7.

UN doc. Addendum 1, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2002/X/Add.1, E/CN.4/Sub.2/2002/WG.2/WP.1/Add.1 (Draft for Discussion November 2001).

UN doc. UNCTAD/ITE/IIT/Misc.21 at 6 (1999).

See, for example, the Ok Tedi Mine Continuation Act 2001 passed by the Papua New Guinea Parliament on 12 December 2001, which indemnifies BHP Billiton from damages for environmental pollution at its Ok Tedi coppermine; AAP, Press Notice, 12 December 2001.

UNAIDS, Table of Country-Specific HIV/AIDS Estimates and Data, June 2000

Ultimately, the USA and Canada respected the anti-anthrax patents after negotiating significant discount prices for the relevant drugs.

WTO doc. WT/MIN/01/DEC/W/2, 14 November 2001

Le Carré John , The Constant Gardener, Hodder & Stoughton, London, 2001.

See generally, Alston Philip , ‘The Myopia of the Handmaidens: International Lawyers and Globalisation’, (1997) 8 European Journal of International Law 435.

See Joseph Sarah , ‘Taming the Leviathans: Multinational Enterprises and Human Rights’, (1999) 46 Netherlands International Law Review 171, pp.189–91.

See also Davies Martin , ‘Just (don't) do it: Ethics and International Trade’, (1997) 21 Melbourne University Law Review 601, 614.

Joseph , above, ref 15, p.185.

WTO doc. WT/DS135/R, decision of 18 September 2000.

See Greider William , ‘The Right and US Trade Law: Invalidating the 20th Century’, The Nation, 15 October 2001.