The Legal Personality of Multinational Corporations, State Responsibility and Due Diligence: The Way Forward

Abstract

This article revisits the accountability of multinational corporations from the perspective of general international law. Such a perspective proves to be much less traditional that it may appear at first sight. On the contrary, innovative approaches may be inferred from general international law in order to ensure accountability of multinational enterprises. This includes basic notions such as legal personality and state responsibility as well as due diligence which represents the most promising avenue in this field.

Keywords: Multinational corporation, legal personnality, corporate responsibility, due diligence, non-state actor, business and human rights, state responsibility