Victims of abuse by multinational companies have limited options when it comes to enforcing their rights, especially in countries where regulatory oversight of corporate activities is weak. While local remedies may be a theoretical possibility, all too often problems of under-resourcing, lack of political will, intimidation and corruption make access to justice an unlikely prospect.
The aim of this report is to try to identify a way of “filling the gap” between, on the one hand, a series of relatively toothless soft law and self-regulatory initiatives, and, on the other hand, a domestic civil liability system which, though well established, is fraught with difficulty for claimants (especially claimants against multinational corporate groups) and is too easily manipulated by companies seeking to avoid liability.
This paper has been written by Jennifer Zerk for CORE Coalition, to stimulate debate amongst corporate accountability campaigners and policy makers.
