Contract and Tort Accountability of Multinational Business Entities for Violations of Labour Rights

This book explores the potential of domestic contract and tort laws to contribute to the important goal of human rights and decent work in global supply chains.

Currently, most attention focuses on the possibility of a new international treaty on business and human rights, whereas until recently, when discussing transnational human rights litigation, the focus has been on the Alien Tort Statute in the USA. However, even if a new international treaty is agreed upon, or if new domestic human rights due diligence legislation is passed, domestic contract and tort laws will still be important as complements to any new such measures.

The book analyses existing contract and tort litigation against multinational business entities for violations of human rights, with a particular focus on case law from the UK; it also addresses relevant jurisprudence from other common law jurisdictions such as the USA and Canada. The unique contribution of the book is to focus on, where relevant, these claims as labour rights violations: to consider if and how the status of claimants as workers can or does affect these claims in contract and tort.

The book adds a different and new perspective to the business and human rights debate. Additionally, it will also appeal to domestic employment law scholars for its discussion generally of the possibilities at common law.

Astrid Sanders is Associate Professor of Labour Law at LSE Law School, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.