On 15 March 2024, the European Council approved the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD” or “Directive”). If approved by the European Parliament and entered into force, the CSDDD will require large EU and...more
4/9/2024
/ Batteries ,
Child Labor ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Due Diligence ,
EU ,
European Parliament ,
Forced Labor ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Human Rights ,
Noncompliance ,
OECD ,
Penalties ,
Sanctions ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability
Soon to be law, the bill will require many foreign companies doing business in Canada to report annually; first reports will be due May 31, 2024 -
On May 3, 2023, Canada’s Parliament passed Bill S-211, An Act to enact the...more
5/12/2023
/ Canada ,
Child Labor ,
Fines ,
Forced Labor ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Imports ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Transparency ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act: what does it mean for companies with a presence in Germany or doing business with German customers?
On 1 January 2023, the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (“Gesetz über die...more
1/6/2023
/ Corrective Actions ,
Documentation ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement ,
Export Controls ,
Germany ,
Human Rights ,
New Legislation ,
Risk Management ,
Self-Reporting ,
Supply Chain
On 31 August 2022, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (the “High Commissioner” or “OHCHR”) published its long-awaited Assessment of Human Rights Concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China....more
A new wave of mandatory human rights due diligence legislation is coming into force across Europe. It goes far beyond existing reporting obligations, such as under the UK or Australia’s Modern Slavery Acts, and will require...more
9/13/2022
/ Australia ,
Construction Contracts ,
Due Diligence ,
EU ,
FIDIC Contracts ,
Human Rights ,
International Construction Projects ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
UK ,
UN Guiding Principles
The business “responsibility to respect” human rights in Latin America, until recently, was governed mainly by soft law, namely the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“UNGP’s”). Two new legal...more
On 1 July 2022, the Norwegian Transparency Act entered into force. It requires that large domestic (Norwegian) companies and foreign companies doing business in Norway implement and account for human rights due diligence in...more
Five practical steps large Japanese companies should take to prepare for the introduction of mandatory due diligence -
The European Commission recently published the text of the proposed Corporate Sustainability Due...more
On March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed widely anticipated rules that would require registrants to provide specified climate-related information in registration statements and periodic...more
The European Commission has published a proposed Directive on “Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence” (the “Proposed Directive”). The Proposed Directive would impose extensive and legally enforceable duties on large...more
June’s G7 summit showed that eradicating forced labor in Xinjiang remains a top priority for leaders of the world’s most advanced economies. But what does this mean for international businesses with supply chains extending to...more
8/6/2021
/ China ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Forced Labor ,
G7 ,
Human Rights ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Supply Chain ,
UK ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Withhold Release Orders (WROs)
Business and Human Rights: Energy and extractives in a changing landscape of new generation trade agreements protecting and promoting both trade and human rights -
As allegations of genocide, forced labour, or widespread...more
For over 20 years, a little-known dispute resolution mechanism has facilitated conciliatory ends to numerous human rights and environmental grievances levied against multinational corporations. The OECD’s National Contact...more
Business and human rights will continue to receive significant attention and development in 2021. Take a look at what is on the horizon . . .
COVID-19: Vaccines are being administered in some countries but COVID-19...more
1/21/2021
/ Child Labor ,
Climate Change ,
Contact Tracing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Governments ,
Human Rights ,
New Guidance ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Supply Chain ,
US State Departments ,
Vaccinations
Over the Horizon: The rise and fall of nuclear new build in the United Kingdom -
September 2016 was supposed to herald the dawn of a new era for the nuclear power industry in the United Kingdom. The UK Government had...more
Court Faults FERC in its Handling of ANR Storage Company’s Six Year Quest for Authorization to Charge Market-Based Rates for Natural Gas Storage Services -
On September 21, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District...more
While energy companies around the world are becoming aware of the possibility of being sued in domestic courts for human rights offenses that their global subsidiaries have allegedly committed, there is another important...more