Corporations and Social Environmental Justice: The Role of Private International Law

Abstract

Multinational, or transnational, corporations (hereafter 'TNC') have a longstanding, and uneasy, relationship with both society and the environment. Private law, and in particular the law of torts or civil liability, has often been used as a weapon by litigants to address environmental or personal concerns in respect of corporate acts. As national and international environmental and human rights regimes become more sophisticated, however, it is worth revisiting whether an integrated approach, built around a concept of 'social environmental justice' is useful or relevant in regulating the conduct of TNCs in this respect. In this paper, we argue that in spite of its limitations, the private international law of torts, is a useful tool for meeting regulatory challenges relating to TNCs and the environment, and that the approach that has been generally followed in the case law bears witness indeed to such an integrated approach.