Teaching Note on Mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence Legislation

Since the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) were unanimously endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, a growing number of laws seeking to implement them have been adopted at the domestic, regional, and international level. In particular, legislation requiring companies to exercise human rights due diligence (HRDD) have been proposed or adopted in multiple jurisdictions over the last decade.

The study of mandatory HRDD legislation is particularly relevant in a BHR course because it underlines the progressive move from soft law to hard law that the BHR field has undergone over the past decade. This chapter surveys categories of human rights due diligence (HRDD) legislation, highlights key HRDD laws and their features, and suggests approaches for teaching the topic.