On 21st May, law firm Volterra Fietta published a briefing providing an update in respect of the litigation and compliance risks in the rapidly-developing field of transnational human rights law, where parent companies may be held liable for alleged human rights impacts involving their subsidiaries overseas. It notes that governments have recently adopted innovative ways to address human rights, including legislation and a new ombudsperson’s office in Canada. The article goes on to provide a short update on legal and regulatory developments in the UK and Canada. It is notable that the cases cited, in both countries, mostly involve mining companies, though it reports that a Canadian case involving a retailer which indirectly sourced garments from factories in Rana Plaza in Bangladesh (where a factory collapsed in 2011 causing massive casualties) failed.
http://www.volterrafietta.com/transnational-business-and-human-rights-risks-and-rewards/
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