The Long Arm of Human Rights Risk: Supply Chain Management and Legal Responsibility

Abstract

The recent Rana Plaza factory disaster in Bangladesh is yet another bloody and stark reminder of the real legal, reputational and economic risks facing corporations at the top of the supply chain for human rights infractions further down it. By reviewing such litigious avenues as the US Alien Torts Statute (even after Kiobel) and other tortious routes in UK and Europe, along with the impacts of individual retailer accords, the authors highlight the fact that the extraterritoriality of human rights abuses is no shield against liability. The article explains the reasons why companies need to be aware of the serious possibilities of legal action in their home jurisdictions for human rights abuses with which they may be associated by way of their supply chains relations, and argues for serious reforms to the current levels of due diligence in supply chain management.