Creating a legislative level playing field in business and human rights at the European level : is the French duty of vigilance law the way forward?

Abstract

In recent years, the field of business and human rights has witnessed a shift from soft law to hard law, which has been taking place as a number of states have been intensifying their efforts to comply with their duty to protect human rights. Some states have adopted legislation on human rights reporting such as the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015, whilst other states have favoured the adoption of mandatory human rights due diligence legislation to govern corporate behaviour both within their territories and abroad. This is the case of the French Duty of Vigilance Law, which also provides for an associated civil liability regime in case of harm. This paper explores the limitations of these fragmented domestic approaches and argues that there is a pressing need to create a legislative level playing field at the European level. It investigates the strenghts and weaknesses of the French of Vigilance Law in order to determine whether it could serve as a model.