"Where Neither Corporate Nor International Law Converge: The Multinational Enterprise and Societal Frameworks" -- Presentation at ASIL International Legal Theory Interest Group (ILTIG) Symposium, 11 May 2018

I was thrilled to have been able to participate in the recently concluded ASIL International Legal Theory Interest Group (ILTIG) Symposium,  When Corporate and International Law Meet: Corporate Agency in a Global Context. It was co-organized by Durham University's Institute of Commercial and Corporate Law (ICCL) and by the Jilin University School of Law.ASIL  More about that here. 

This post includes the PowerPoints of my contribution to that event, "Where Neither Corporate Nor International Law Converge: The Multinational Enterprise and Societal Frameworks."

Much of what is going on in the regulation of CSR and its related aspects (duties, responsibilities and rights) is not happening within the conventional structures of the corporation (enterprise) or law. The regulatory focus instead is on two constructs, neither of which is recognized fully in law: (1) Multinational corporations (MNCs); and (2) Societal rule making. But the regulation of both of these constructs is made more difficult by the conventional centrality of the corporation and of state based law (domestic and international) with all of its baggage. That presents a regulatory conundrum explored in the presentation. With a focus on the MNC as an object of legal/societal regulation, and on the legalization of societal space, and the emerging governance characteristics of accountability and assessment as the form of regulation, the presentation considered two questions. (1) has the legalization of societal space come to its end in the face of data driven governance?; (2) If not the MNC, are regulatory efforts targeting the right object?

The PowerPoints may also be accessed here.