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The UN Guiding Principles and the Legal Profession: Quo Vadis?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2017

Stefanie LEMKE
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Keywords

conflict of interesthuman rights due diligencelawyersprofessional responsibilityUN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
Type
Developments in the Field
Information
Business and Human Rights Journal , Volume 2 , Issue 2 , July 2017 , pp. 351 - 357
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 

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Footnotes

*

Post-doctoral Researcher and Policy Adviser. Stefanie has worked with the Netherlands Helsinki Committee (NHC), The Hague, the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM), Utrecht University, the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), Berlin, the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Documentation Centre for the Law of the Legal Profession in Europe, University of Cologne. She also practised with international law firms and pursued her PhD thesis on ‘Human Rights Lawyering in Europe’ at the Universities of Cologne, London and Oxford.

References

1 Human Rights Council, ‘Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework’, A/HRC/17/31 (21 March 2011).

2 Jolyon Ford, ‘Business and Human Rights: Bridging the Governance Gap’, Chatham House International Law Programme, Research Paper (22 September 2015), https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/field/field_document/20150922BusinessHumanRightsFordV2.pdf (accessed 4 March 2017) 10; International Bar Association (IBA), Practical Guide on Business and Human Rights for Business Lawyers (London: IBA, 2016) 23–26 Google Scholar, 39.

3 See also American Bar Association Resolution 109 (6 February 2012), http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/house_of_delegates/resolutions/2012_hod_midyear_meeting_109.doc (accessed 4 March 2017).

4 Anita Ramasastry and Doug Cassel, ‘White Paper: Options for a Treaty on Business and Human Rights’ (May 2015), 46, http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/human_rights/aba-chr-bhrproject-treatywhitepaper.authcheckdam.pdf (accessed 4 March 2017); Jonathan Smithers, ‘As Businesses, Law Firms Need to Implement Processes and Practices to Ensure Respect for Human Rights’, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (2015), https://business-humanrights.org/en/as-businesses-law-firms-need-to-implement-processes-and-practices-to-ensure-respect-for-human-rights-0 (accessed 4 March 2017).

5 ABA Resolution, note 3.

6 ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct, rule 2.1.

7 Ibid; ABA Resolution, note 3, 5.

8 BHRAG, ‘Recommendations’ (March 2014), http://communities.lawsociety.org.uk/download?ac=9376 (accessed 4 March), 7–12.

9 Law Society of England and Wales, ‘Business and Human Rights Workshops’, http://communities.lawsociety.org.uk/human-rights/what-we-do/business-and-human-rights/business-and-human-rights-workshops/ (accessed 4 March 2017).

10 See, e.g., Law Council of Australia, ‘Business and Human Rights: Some Questions and Answers for Business Lawyers’ (2016), 17, 22, https://business-humanrights.org/en/law-council-of-australia-publishes-new-guidance-on-business-human-rights-for-business-lawyers (accessed 4 March 2017).

11 See, e.g., Advocates for International Development (A4ID), The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: A Guide for the Legal Profession (London: A4ID, 2013) 40 Google Scholar.

12 IBA, note 2, 35.

13 UN Global Compact, ‘UN Global Compact Guide for General Counsel on Corporate Sustainability’ (June 2015), https://www.unglobalcompact.org/library/1351 (accessed 4 March 2017).

14 DAV, Stellungnahme Nr. 17/2016 (April 2016) 7–8.

15 Ibid.

16 See, e.g., IBA, note 2, 39–40.

17 BHRAG, note 8, 10.

18 See, e.g., Linklaters, ‘Human Rights: Statement of Intent’, http://www.linklaters.com/Responsibility/Pages/Human-RightsStatement-Intent.aspx (accessed 4 March 2017).

19 King’s College London and A4ID, ‘What Lawyers Can Do about Climate Change’, Workshop Briefing Paper, http://www.a4id.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/A4ID-KCL-What-Lawyers-can-do-about-Climate-Change-Briefing-Paper.pdf (accessed 4 March 2017).

20 Such as Allen & Overy.

21 In an interview, a partner of Norton Rose Fulbright stated: ‘If a client doesn’t take your advice in relation to a gross human rights abuse, my personal perspective is that I withdraw’. Marialuisa Taddia, ‘Business and Human Rights – Moral Support’, The Law Society Gazette (21 March 2016), http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/practice/business-and-human-rights-moral-support/5054307.article (accessed 4 March 2017).

22 Claes Cronstedt and Robert C Thompson, ‘A Proposal for an International Arbitration Tribunal on Business and Human Rights’, Harvard International Law Journal (7 July 2016), http://www.harvardilj.org/2016/07/a-proposal-for-an-international-arbitration-tribunalon-business-and-human-right (accessed 4 March 2017). In an updated proposal, the authors call for a ‘Business and Human Rights Arbitration Panel’ instead of a tribunal. Claes Cronstedt, Jan Eijsbouts and Robert C Thompson, ‘International Business and Human Rights Arbitration’, Lawyers for Better Business (13 February 2017), http://www.l4bb.org/pages/Resources.php (accessed 4 March 2017).

23 Sam Chadderton, ‘Top City Firms Aim to Develop Human Rights Principles to Guide Work’, Legal Futures (7 August 2013), http://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/top-city-firms-aim-develop-human-rights-principles-guide-work (accessed 4 March 2017).

24 Lebuis, Véronique, ‘Human Rights and Transnational Business: Are Canada’s Courts Up to the Task?’ (2011) 15:4 Aportes DPLf Google Scholar 22; Müller-Hoff, Claudia, ‘Strategic Human Rights Litigation: Can It Be Used Effectively against Transnational Corporations?’ (2011) 15:4 Aportes DPLf Google Scholar 24, 25.

25 John F Sherman, ‘Professional Responsibility of Lawyers under the Guiding Principles’, Shift (April 2012), http://www.shiftproject.org/resources/viewpoints/professional-responsibility-lawyers-guiding-principles/ (accessed 4 March 2017).

26 See, e.g., Martin Wright, ‘The rise of public advocacy in business’, The Guardian (11 August 2015), https://business-humanrights.org/en/the-rise-of-public-advocacy-in-business-examples-of-companies-speaking-out-on-human-rights-sustainability-issues (accessed 4 March 2017).

27 John G Ruggie and John F Sherman, ‘Adding Human Rights Punch to the New Lex Mercatoria: The Impact of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights on Commercial Legal Practice’, SSRN, 3, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2657885 (accessed 4 March 2017).

28 IBA, note 2, 31; Taddia, note 21.

29 UN Global Compact, note 13.

30 Smithers, note 4.

31 Ibid.

32 BHRAG, note 8, 8; Law Council of Australia, note 10, 3–5.

33 Law Council of Australia, note 10, 19.

34 Global Witness, ‘Undercover in New York’, https://www.globalwitness.org/shadyinc/ (accessed 4 March 2017).

35 Louise Story, ‘Report Describes Lawyers’ Advice on Moving Suspect Funds Into U.S.’, New York Times (31 January 2016), http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/01/us/report-describes-lawyers-advice-on-moving-suspect-funds-into-us.html?_r=1 (accessed 4 March 2017) .

36 See, e.g., Amazon Defense Coalition, ‘Chevron’s Arbitrator Suffers from Acute Ethical Problems, Ecuadorians Assert’, ChevronToxico (23 February 2012), http://chevrontoxico.com/news-and-multimedia/2012/0223-chevrons-arbitrator-suffers-from-acute-ethical-problems (accessed 4 March 2017).

37 IBA, note 2, 36, 39.

38 See, e.g., Danish Institute for Human Rights, ‘Human Rights Impact Assessment Guidance and Toolbox’, https://www.humanrights.dk/business/tools/human-rights-impact-assessment-guidance-and-toolbox (accessed 4 March 2017).

39 See, e.g., Law Council of Australia, note 10, 22.

40 A4ID, note 11, 43.

41 Chip Pitts, ‘Authentic Leadership: The Lawyer’s Role in Corporate Social Responsibility, Business and Human Rights’, Lawyers for Better Business (5 October 2011), http://www.l4bb.org/pages/home.php (accessed 4 March 2017).

42 See also BHRAG, note 8, 3, 8.

43 See, e.g., Law Council of Australia, note 10, 3; Taddia, note 21.