Extraterritorial Responsibility of the Home States for MNCs Violations of Human Rights

Abstract

Beyond the host State, the home State too has international obligations to regulate the activities of its corporate nationals when they conduct economic activities overseas. These obligations are “extraterritorial” in the sense that they are triggered by acts and omissions of the State authorities performed or producing effects outside their own territory. The paper focuses on the home State’s responsibility for violations of its obligations under international human rights law with regard to the activities of corporate nationals abroad. The paper demonstrates that recent State practice reveals progressive evolution of positive international law towards the duty of home States to protect from the harmful conduct of their corporate nationals acting abroad.