Abstract

What is the relevance of the board of directors for ensuring that corporations live up to their responsibility to respect human rights? Mandatory due diligence laws and reporting laws generally overlook the role of the board in human rights compliance. U.S. case law also continues to ignore the important role of the board in human rights practices of companies. The CSDDD ultimately excluded Articles 25 and 26 that would have clarified the board’s duties regarding human rights due diligence.   

However, shareholders have been pressuring corporations to improve oversight by adding human rights experts to boards and/or establishing board committees with oversight responsibilities for human rights. This paper considers the functions of the board and its implications for human rights due diligence and other expectations of corporations as established under the UNGPs.

Registration

Please email sgel-fdr@uva.nl to register for online or in-person participation.

Speaker

Kish Parella is the Class of 1960 Professor of Ethics and Law at Washington and Lee University School of law where she teaches contracts, business associations, international business transactions, and corporate social responsibility, among other courses. She has advised government officials, corporate executives and UN working groups on various issues of business and human rights. She serves on the Board of Directors for Corporate Accountability Lab, a non-profit organization dedicated to using legal strategies to hold corporations accountable for human rights abuses.  She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Global Business & Human Rights Scholars Association and is a member of the Editorial Board for the Business & Human Rights Journal.  She is also an International Research Fellow at the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation, Said Business School, Oxford University.  Prior to entering the legal academy, Professor Parella practiced international litigation and arbitration at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.