Publication announcement: Utrecht Journal of International and European Law - Legal Aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility

The Utrecht Journal of International and European Law, on whose Permanent Board of Referees I serve, has just announced the publication of its latest issue.  This issue contains a number of articles that may of significant relevance to those of you with an interest in legal aspects of corporate social responsibility.

The announcement follows with links. 

It gives me great joy to inform you that the Utrecht Journal of International and European Law has published its 78th Issue today titled Legal Aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility. This is also the first edition under the new name.

The Issue features an editorial, six research articles, a case note, a book review, an interview and a conference report. The editorial, written by Tineke Lambooy, provides an excellent introduction to the Issue's theme and its content, which can be accessed here: http://www.utrechtjournal.org/issue/view/8. Thanks to the features of the new website you now have the opportunity to comment on the published pieces. The Board of Editors invites you to use this feature as a forum and hereby instigate a lively academic debate.

The six research articles included in this Issue consider different topics but all relate to the theme Corporate Social Responsibility.

The first article is written by Justine Nolan who writes that we are currently witnessing a process of re-regulation whereby state and non-state actors are utilizing a combination of public and private regulation to improve the framework for corporate rights compliance. He argues that the regulation of corporate activity with respect to human rights requires a multiplicity of stakeholders and a very nuanced mix of public and private regulation that may be difficult to replicate easily across different sectors, states and cultural boundaries.

Chilenye Nwapi then continues by examining the feasibility of using the jurisdiction by necessity doctrine to promote the accountability of transnational corporations for extraterritorial human and environmental rights abuses committed in developing countries with weak accountability mechanisms. The article also analyses the inadequacy of existing jurisdictional doctrines in light of the complex web of operations of TNCs, which shields them from the reach of traditional jurisdictional doctrines.

The third article comes from Carola Glinski's hand who discusses legitimate legal effects of private standards in public international law, using the issue of private labels as 'international standards' under WTO law, which, according to the author, shows certain openness for external transnational standards. She argues that the requirements for legitimate standards depend on the interests at stake and that a private standard can well be more legitimate than a competing public standard.

Scott Robinson examines the current system from the legal perspective of OECD Member States and explores the relatively ignored extent of their obligations under it. This paper posits that on account of the Council Decision, treaty-derived, international obligations are in fact imposed on OECD Member States. Mr Robinson believes it to be clear that there does not exist any review mechanism—domestically or internationally—capable of attributing internationally wrongful conduct to an OECD Member State on account of its National Contact Point.

Benjamin Thompson - currently member of the Board of Editors - discusses the recent Kiobel case before the US Supreme Court and attempts to answer the question whether an extension of American law to provide remedies for severe corporate human rights abuses can be justified in the absence of any such remedies existent in international law.

The final article is written by Jeffrey A. Van Detta, who discusses the sponsorship of multinational corporations for the Sochi Olympic Games and describes that this, combined with recent legislation negatively affecting the LGBT community, raises a CSR problem. He ultimately proposes an approach that combines the public-pressure engine that fuels voluntary CSR with public disclosures mandated by law to optimize the information and mobilisation of public opinion and pressure

In addition, this Issue features a case note written by Roger Cox on the climate proceedings of Dutch citizens against the Dutch state (Urgenda). In his case note, he explains why each European Member State’s contribution to dangerous climate change as a result of inadequate emission reduction policies constitutes a tort of negligence against its citizens and poses a real threat for its citizens’ effective enjoyment of human rights.

Rhuks Ako reviews the book Corporate Social Responsibility of Multinational Corporations in Developing Countries: Perspectives on Anti-Corruption (Cambridge University Press 2012) by Adefolake O. Adeyeye, which deals with, among other topics, the regulation of multinational corporations, corporate social responsibility and corruption.

Journal Editors Ilina Georgieva, Erica Teeuwen and Benjamin Thompson interviewed the General Counsel and Head of the UN Global Compact Ursula Wynhoven. The interview gives a clear image of how this organisation operates in practice and what Ms Wynhoven's views on CSR are in general.

This Issue closes with a report written by Rosalien Diepeveen, Yulia Levashova and Tineke Lambooy on the topics that were discussed at the conference ‘Bridging the Gap between International Investment Law and the Environment’, which was held on 4 and 5 November 2013 in The Hague.

Bringing these excellent pieces together for this Issue has been the result of many months' hard work on the part of the Board of Editors. Of course, these efforts would have been entirely lacking if it were not for the support and contributions of our revered Referees, our spot-on Specialist Editors, our omniscient Advisory Board and our experienced Alumni Board. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to our publisher Ubiquity Press and their typesetters at Siliconchips, the 33rd Urios Board and Utrecht University. Finally, I would like to personally thank the members of the Board of Editors for their dedication to making this a great issue.

I hope our readers find each piece to be as inspiring and enjoyable as I do.

Tomas Königs
Editor-in-Chief