Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence: from the Process to the Principle

By analysing the relationship between corporate human rights due diligence in the context of business and human rights (B&HRs) and the said principle in general international law, this Chapter explores whether due diligence may provide a source of international legal obligations addressed to companies. Section 2 will begin by examining the normative contours of due diligence and its application in international law. Section 3 will then address the scope and content of the human rights due diligence process as envisaged by the ungps, with a view to understanding whether and to what extent such process can be framed in a public international law fashion. The fast-evolving phenomenon of mandatory human rights due diligence at the domestic level will be explored in Section 4, in order to point to the increasing recognition by States that due diligence represents a standard of expected conduct for the business sector. Finally, Section 5 will address the role of due diligence in international investment law, where the principle is already playing a pivotal role as a source to ground international obligations also on the part of foreign investors.