The lockdown measures imposed following the COVID-19 outbreak have generated novel and significant challenges for businesses.  As firms redouble their efforts to ensure business continuity and redirect supply chains – and, in some jurisdictions, transition back to normal operating conditions – there is heightened risk of adverse human rights impacts materialising throughout the value chain, where such risk…

In a landmark judgment for transnational human rights litigation, the Supreme Court of Canada in Nevsun Resources Ltd v Araya, 2020 SCC 5 has opened the door for litigants seeking redress for human rights violations in Canadian courts. Significantly, the Supreme Court held that customary international law can give rise to a direct claim in Canada with…

Over the last three years, the English courts have demonstrated an increasing willingness to accept jurisdiction over tort claims brought against UK multinationals in relation to human rights impacts in their overseas operations. This culminated last year in the Supreme Court’s judgment in Vedanta – heralded by some respected commentators as “the most important…