The Interplay between EU Public Procurement and Human Rights in Global Supply Chains: Lessons from the Italian Legal Context

Abstract

Linking EU public procurement and the recently consolidated Business & Human Rights field of international law is a core challenge and opportunity in the current globalized economy. Global supply chains play a crucial role in enhancing socio-economic development, however evidence from NGOs and case law shows that human rights and labour standards abuses persist in many market sectors. Thus, goods, works, services procured by public entities may entail human rights risks, potentially occurring throughout their global supply chains. The EU regulatory framework has not adequately regulated such intersection, fostering ambiguity and uncertainties in the application which require legal clarification at multiple levels. This article looks at public procurement from a human rights’ legal perspective, firstly analysing whether there are human rights obligations for contracting authorities (§ 1). Key potentials and uncertainties under the EU Public Sector Directive are highlighted (§ 2), followed by the analysis of the case of Italy, unpacking the use of minimum sustainability requirements to foster human rights respect along global supply chains.