Book Launch: Multinational Enterprises and the Law

The Oxford Business and Human Rights Network and the SOAS School of Law invite you to the launch of the third edition of the seminal book 'Multinational Enterprises and the Law' (Oxford University Press, 2021) by Professor Peter Muchlinski (with a contribution from Dr Ebbe Rogge). The study is the only comprehensive, contemporary, and interdisciplinary account of the techniques used to regulate multinational enterprises (MNEs) at the national, regional, and multilateral levels. In addition, it considers the effects of corporate self-regulation, and the impact of civil society and community groups upon the development of the legal order in this area. The book was first published in 1995 and has been thoroughly revised and updated for this third edition, making it a definitive reference work for students, researchers, and practitioners of international economic law, business, corporate and commercial law, development studies, and international politics. Among other issues, the book examines the social dimension of MNE regulation covering labour rights, human rights, and environmental issues. This panel discussion will focus on the evolution of the business and human rights debate over the last two decades and discuss the risks, challenges, and opportunities businesses face in the evolving regulatory landscape. Authors of the book will be joined by Professor John Ruggie (Harvard Kennedy School of Government); Professor Barnali Choudhury (UCL); Professor Surya Deva (City University of Hong Kong); Rae Lindsay (Clifford Chance); John Morrison (Institute for Human Rights and Business); James Zhan (UNCTAD). Scott Newton (SOAS School of Law) will open the launch with a welcome speech. Attendees will receive a discount code for ordering the book following the event.

An audio recording of this event is available to listen to on Soundcloud

Speakers

Peter Muchlinski is Emeritus Professor in International Commercial Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Prior to joining SOAS he was Professor of Law and International Business at Kent Law School, University of Kent (2001-5). He was a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at the London School of Economics (1983-1998), and Drapers' Professor of Law in the Law Department of Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, from 1998 to 2001. He specialises in international business and economic law, comparative corporate law and international investment law in which fields he has authored numerous papers and articles. His more recent published work concentrates on business and human rights. He is a door tenant at Brick Court Chambers, London, and has also acted as a legal adviser to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on investment law and policy issues.

Ebbe Rogge is an Assistant-Professor at Leiden Law School, Leiden University. His work focuses on corporate governance, transnational and comparative law, and financial law in particular. He has extensive experience both in investment banking and in financial services regulation. Ebbe holds a Ph.D. in Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and was called to the bar of England & Wales by Gray's Inn as a Prince of Wales Scholar (does not currently hold a practising certificate).

John Ruggie is the Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Affiliated Professor in International Legal Studies at Harvard Law. Trained as a political scientist, Professor Ruggie has made significant intellectual contributions to the study of international relations, focusing on the impact of economic and other forms of globalization on global rulemaking and the emergence of new rule-makers. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship, and awards from the American Political Science Association, International Studies Association, and the Berlin Social Science Center. Surveys published in Foreign Policy magazine have identified him as one of the 25 most influential international relations scholars in the United States and Canada. In addition to his academic pursuits, Professor Ruggie has long been involved in practical policy work. He served as the UN Special Representative for Business and Human Rights from 2005-2011. His mandate was to propose measures to strengthen the human rights performance of the business sector around the world. The end result was the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, drafted by Professor Ruggie and unanimously endorsed by the U.N. Human Rights Council in June, 2011.

Barnali Choudhury joined UCL in 2015, having previously taught at another London university and before that in Canada, the U.S and New Zealand. She is the author of Public Services and International Trade Liberalization: Human Rights and Gender Implications (Cambridge University Press, 2012), a co-editor of Understanding the Modern Company: Corporate Governance and Theory (Cambridge University Press, 2017) and co-author of the monograph, Corporate Duties to the Public (Cambridge University Press, 2019). Barnali’s work has been published widely and she has been invited to give talks throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. Her research has been cited by the United Nations, the House of Commons and the House of Lords EU Select Committee, among others.  She has held visitorships at NYU Law School, the University of Cambridge and at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and Private Law and has been the recipient of numerous research grants, including a Leverhulme Research Fellowship. She is currently the academic director for UCL's Global Governance Institute.

Surya Deva is an Associate Professor at the School of Law of City University of Hong Kong, and the current Vice Chair of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights. Prof Deva’s primary research interests lie in Business and Human Rights, India-China Constitutional Law, and Sustainable Development. He has published extensively in these areas, and has advised various UN bodies, governments, multinational corporations and civil society organisations on matters related to business and human rights. He is one of the founding Editors-in-Chief of the Business and Human Rights Journal, and sits on the Editorial/Advisory Board of the Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, the Vienna Journal on International Constitutional Law, the Indian Law Review, and the Australian Journal of Human Rights. 

Rae Lindsay is a partner in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice area of Clifford Chance and is co-head of the firm’s Public International Law and Business & Human Rights practices. She is also a member of the firm’s ESG Board.  Rae has practiced in the firm's London and New York offices and advises clients across multiple sectors on a broad range of human rights related matters including advisory, transactional and risk management issues (including human rights due diligence) as well as dispute avoidance and resolution. Rae is Co-Chair of Trustees of the Institute for Human Rights and Business and serves on the Advisory Boards for the Business and Human Rights Journal, the International Bar Association Business Human Rights Committee and the New York City Bar Association Working Group on Business and Human Rights.  Rae is ranked in Band 1 among Global Market Leaders by Chambers Global 2021 for Business and Human Rights Law.

John Morrison has been Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) since its formation in 2009 under the leadership of Mary Robinson (the former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights). John leads IHRB’s global strategy, fundraising, and outreach. John has advised a number of governments, intergovernmental organisations, and businesses on human rights and wider issues of sustainability, development, and international affairs. His most recent book is "The Social License”, published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2014, and he has published widely on issues relating to corporate responsibility, human rights, refugee protection, and human trafficking. John also sits on the UK Foreign Secretary's Human Rights Advisory Group and has been a Harkness Fellow to the USA. In 2017, he was named one of the 100 most influential people worldwide on the issue of eliminating modern day slavery.

Scott Newton serves as Chair of the SOAS Centre for Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus and Head of the School of Law . Scott works on Post-Soviet law and legal/institutional reform in Central Asia and CIS; law and development (markets and globalization in developing and transitional states); law, governance and post-conflict reconstruction; human rights. He is author of The Constitutional Systems of the Independent Central Asian States (Bloomsbury 2017).

James X. Zhan is Director of Investment and Enterprise at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The key products and services under his direction include the World Investment Forum; Global FDI-TNC data base; Investment Advisory Series; Investment Trends and Policy Monitors; and Investment Policy Reviews. Mr. Zhan also leads the division’s research and capacity-building work in the areas of international investment agreements; business facilitation and investment promotion; international accounting standards; entrepreneurship policy; intellectual property rights; corporate governance and social responsibility; and the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative. The programme contributes to investment policymaking at the global, regional and national level. Mr. Zhan holds a PhD in international economics, and was research fellow at Oxford University. He is guest professor at Nankai University in China. He has published extensively on trade and investment-related economic and legal issues.