2013/2014  KAN-2BIR  Business Responsibilities for Human Rights

English Title

Business Responsibilities for Human Rights

Course information
Language	English
Exam ECTS	7.5 ECTS
Type	Mandatory
Level	Full Degree Master
Duration	One Semester
Course period	Spring
Time Table	Please see course schedule at e-Campus
Study board	Study Board for BSc/MSc i International Business and Politics, MSc
Course coordinator
Lynn Roseberry - MPP
Main academic disciplines
Business Law International Politics
Last updated on 05-07-2013

Learning objectives

The purpose of the course is to provide students with the theoretical and analytical tools necessary to identify when business activities are likely to impinge on internationally recognized human rights and enable them to identify and formulate legal, political and business arguments for and against holding businesses responsible for respecting human rights. After concluding the course, students should demonstrate: Describe the content of the Global Compact and their relationship to underlying international human rights treaties. Describe the main legal arguments and political arguments for and against holding businesses responsible for respecting human rights. Explain the main ways in which business activities may have an impact on the protection and enjoyment of human rights. Analyze specific cases where it is it is claimed that the business activities may have or actually do have effects on specific human rights.

Examination

.: Examination form Home assignment - written product Individual or group exam Individual Size of written product Max. 15 pages Assignment type Written assignment Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time. Grading scale 7-step scale Examiner(s) One internal examiner Exam period Summer Term Make-up exam/re-exam Same examination form as the ordinary exam

Course content and structure

The course will cover the content and legal effects of the international treaties that embody what many recognize as “the international bill of rights”, the UN Guiding Principles, and other instruments of international law and policy concerning the relationship between business and human rights. The course will also provide an introduction to the development of the main international political and legal arguments for the proposition that businesses have some responsibility to respect human rights wherever they operate, regardless of the national legal context.

Teaching methods

Lectures