Tag Archives: Human Rights
Climate Change: Dutch Court of Appeal upholds the decision of the Hague District Court in Urgenda Foundation v Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Dutch Court of Appeal (the “Court”) has upheld the 2015 decision of the Hague District Court in the case of Urgenda Foundation v Kingdom of the Netherlands, and ruled that the State (ie the Kingdom of the Netherlands) has … Continue reading
Filed under ECHR, Environment, Europe, News
Bear Creek Mining Corp. v. Peru: the potential impact on damages of an investor’s contributory action and failure to obtain a social license
In an award dated 30 November 2017 (the “Award“), an ICSID Tribunal ordered Peru to pay around US$30.4million to Canadian company Bear Creek Mining (the “Claimant“) following its finding that a 2011 decree (“Decree 032“) constituted an unlawful indirect expropriation … Continue reading
Filed under Americas, Arbitration Proceedings, Award, Business & Human Rights, ISDS, Mining
3rd EFILA annual conference 2018: parallel states’ obligations in investor-state arbitration – 5 February 2018, London
The European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration (EFILA) will be holding its third Annual Conference on 5 February 2018 at the Senate House in London. The conference will focus on four topics: non-disputing third parties and their influence on … Continue reading
Filed under EU, Europe, International Human Rights, Investment Arbitration, ISDS, ISDS Reform
Negotiations for an international business and human rights treaty continue in Geneva
An intergovernmental working group mandated to draft a new international legal instrument to regulate the activities of transnational corporations in relation to human rights is holding its third meeting in Geneva this week. Negotiations for a business and human rights … Continue reading
Herbert Smith Freehills joins UN Global Compact
Herbert Smith Freehills is pleased to announce today that it has officially joined the United Nations Global Compact, the world's largest global corporate sustainability initiative. This commits Herbert Smith Freehills to supporting and implementing the ten principles of the Global … Continue reading
Filed under Business & Human Rights, News
Doing business in Africa: human rights and crisis management
Stéphane Brabant, Partner, and Yann Alix, Senior Associate, have published an article on doing business in Africa, focussing on the need for investors taking a long-term view to consider human rights implications and crisis management. To read the full article please click here. This … Continue reading
Business, human rights, and extraterritoriality in American law
Beyond Borders: Non-US plaintiffs continue to make inroads towards holding multinational corporations liable under US law for alleged human-rights violations occurring beyond US borders. How can that be? The Alien Tort Claims Act (ATS) is an eighteenth-century statute that gives … Continue reading
Filed under Alien Tort Statute, Americas, Business & Human Rights, US
Indonesia to publish human rights guidelines for businesses
The Jakarta Post has reported that Indonesia’s National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) is preparing a national action plan containing guidelines aimed at prevent human rights abuses by business actors. According to the Jakarta Post, Komnas HAM considers that … Continue reading
Filed under Business & Human Rights, Indonesia
The human right to water: defences to investment treaty violations
At times, and for a variety of reasons, states will regulate the market in the furtherance of public-policy objectives—including to implement specific human rights obligations. Where investment agreements are in place, these kinds of measures may trigger an investor’s claim … Continue reading