Multinationals and Corporate Social Responsibility: Limitations and Opportunities in International Law. By Jennifer A. Zerk.

Abstract

Jennifer Zerk's new book, Multinationals and Corporate Social Responsibility: Limitations and Opportunities in International Law, addresses one of the most unsettled and ambiguous areas of law: the control of multinational corporations (MNCs) and the relevance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the discourse. The debate has spanned several decades and has informed various initiatives at national, international, regional, and private levels aimed at tackling the challenge. The central theme of the book is that while international law has its limitations (primarily its ‘state-centeredness’), it also offers more opportunities for the social and environmental regulation of MNCs than many assume. In advancing this idea the author focuses mainly on the role of home states and MNCs themselves. MNCs for Zerk are comprised of a parent company, located in a home state and linked to its foreign affiliates through a relationship of control. Zerk argues that MNCs have defied national boundaries, thereby limiting the ability of national law to regulate their activities. In relation to international law, the position of MNCs has remained ambiguous. MNCs are often viewed as falling outside the sphere of international law. Therefore, even if corporations violate jus cogens (peremptory norms from which no derogation is permitted), there is no international forum in which they could be brought to justice. There appears to be much pessimism on reaching a worldwide consensus on the control of MNCs at the international level.