Transnational Corporations and the European Court of Human Rights: Reflexions on the Indirect and Direct Approaches to Accountability

Abstract

The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is a traditional human rights document. As a result, the focus of its supervisory mechanism in Strasbourg has been on the civil and political rights violations carried out by states. Notwithstanding, the Strasbourg Court has, in some cases, applied a wider interpretation of the Convention to include some social and economic rights. In addition, the Court has established in its case law that Convention rights apply in the private sphere, albeit indirectly. There is empirical evidence that transnational corporations are violating human rights, however their liability remains slight. The developments in Strasbourg may indicate a potential for the ECHR to have an impact on human rights violations committed by legal persons, namely corporations. Questions arise regarding the best way to deal with these violations: should human rights law consider the direct liability of corporations, implying their elevation to the status of states in international public law; or is it best to develop the current mechanism of the indirect method (Drittwirkung) and maintain the state-centred approach? This paper scrutinises the potentiality of the application of the Convention to corporate violations of human rights, as well as the suitability of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) as a venue to implement the accountability of corporations. European Convention on Human Rights, corporate accountability, indirect approach (Drittwirkung)