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Rule of law in the international legal order / Tom Bingham -- Business and human rights / Mary Robinson -- Business, the international rule of law and human rights / Robert McCorquodale -- 'Justice delayed is justice denied' : the rule of law, economic development and the future of the European Community courts / Tim Cowen -- Checks and balances : European competition law and the rule of law / Philip Marsden -- Investment protection and the rule of law : change or decline? / L. Yves Fortier -- Investment protection and the rule of law : change or decline? / Noah Gallagher -- Benefits of comparative tort reasoning : lost in translation / Jean Stapleton -- Comparing tort law : some thoughts / Duncan Fairgrieve -- International cooperation and the modern prosecutor / Keir Starmer -- International cooperation : a challenge for the modern international prosecutor / Sarah Williams

AbstractThis article aims to offer a definition of the international rule of law. It does this through clarifying the core objectives of a rule of law and examining whether the international system could include them. It demonstrates that there can be a definition of the international rule of law that can be applied to the international system. This definition of the international rule of law is not dependent on a simplistic application of a national rule of law, as it takes into account the significant differences between national and international legal systems. It seeks to show that the international rule of law is relative, rather than absolute, in its application, is not tied to the operation of the substance of international law itself, and it can apply to states, international organizations and non-state actors. It goes further to show that the international rule of law does exist and can be applied internationally, even if it is not yet fully actualized.

Access to an effective remedy is part of the third pillar of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (Guiding Principles). It should require states to provide access to judicial remedies for human rights violations, even those that have occurred outside the territory of the state by a corporation domiciled in that state, especially where claimants "cannot access [their] home State courts regardless of the merits of the claim." While the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. may seem to overwhelm or even drown some of the expectations of such remedies within the United States, the case law in the rest of the world is unlikely to be greatly affected by the ruling due to the jurisdictional and legal system foundations of other states. This article will examine the main case law and judicial remedies sought across the world, with a special emphasis on Europe, where the majority of large non-U.S. transnational corporations have their headquarters.