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Negotiating the Hard/Soft Law Divide in Business and Human Rights: The Implementation of the UNGP s in the European Union
Author(s) -
Augenstein Daniel
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
global policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.602
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1758-5899
pISSN - 1758-5880
DOI - 10.1111/1758-5899.12530
Subject(s) - hard law , soft law , human rights , european union , negotiation , corporate governance , context (archaeology) , political science , law and economics , treaty , international human rights law , global governance , law , international law , sociology , international trade , economics , politics , management , paleontology , biology
The article discusses the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights ( UNGP s) in the European Union against the backdrop of perennial debates between proponents of ‘hard’ versus ‘soft’ law approaches to preventing and redressing corporate‐related human rights violations. It argues that the Open Method of Coordination ( OMC ) – an EU governance instrument of transnational policy‐making – could contribute to negotiating the hard/soft law divide in business and human rights by ensuring a more effective implementation of the UNGP s in the European legal space. Moreover, the European experience with open coordination calls for a reappraisal of the relationship between international law and global governance in addressing today's business and human rights predicament. The first part of the article situates the debate between proponents of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ law approaches to business and human rights in the context of two UN ‐driven initiatives: the development of national action plans ( NAP s) to implement the UNGP s; and the negotiation of an international business and human rights treaty. The second part of the article relates experiences with the existing NAP process in the European Union to the policy background and rationale of the Open Method of Coordination and discusses the conditions for its successful employment in the business and human rights domain.