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United Kingdom

verfasst von : Kasey McCall-Smith, Verónica Ruiz Abou-Nigm

Erschienen in: Private International Law Aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

Reflecting the EU approach, the United Kingdom defines CSR as voluntary but has increasingly worked to integrate social and environmental concerns into its business-focused law and policy. As a member of the OECD, the UK has actively promoted the OECD Guidelines, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and adheres to ISO standards. In parallel, the UK National Contact Point has seen a rise in accepted complaints against businesses and UK courts are more attuned to the complex relationship between corporate action and social responsibility. While the devolved nature of UK business law results in slightly different emphasis on corporate responsibilities across the devolved nations, both statutory and common law duties work together to ensure increased recognition of CSR. Notably, the recent landmark decision in England in Vedanta Resources Plc v Lungowe marked a tide-change on issues of jurisdiction for UK companies’ liabilities overseas. This chapter examines the underpinnings and possibilities of future reinforcement of CSR in cross-border cases in the UK.

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Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (2014) Good for Business & Society: government response to call for views on corporate responsibility. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/300265/bis-14-651-good-for-business-and-society-government-response-to-call-for-views-on-corporate-responsibility.pdf.

Ibid (emphasis added).

Commission to the European Parliament, The Council, The European Economic and Social Committee, The Committee of the Regions (2011) 2011-14 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategy. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52011DC0681&from=EN.

Department of Trade and Industry (2004) UK Government Corporate Social Responsibility: A Government Update. https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20081112200937/http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file48771.pdf.

Idem, p. 22.

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/uk-national-contact-point-for-the-organisation-for-economic-co-operation-and-development-guidelines#uk-ncp-archive.

Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (2014) UK National Contact Point procedures for dealing with complaints brought under the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270577/bis-14-518-procedural-guidance.pdf.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-national-contact-point-statements.

Department for International Trade (2019) Initial assessment by the UK National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises: complaint from AHN and CBVL against Victoria Oil & Gas plc Updated 4 March 2019 Decision. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-ncp-initial-assessment-complaint-from-ahn-and-cbvl-against-victoria-oil-gas-plc-vog/initial-assessment-by-the-uk-national-contact-point-for-the-oecd-guidelines-for-multinational-enterprises-complaint-from-ahn-and-cbvl-against-victori.

Idem.

See https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-national-contact-point-statements.

Amnesty International (2016) Obstacle Course: How the UK’s National Contact Point handles human rights complaints under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, p. 4. https://www.amnesty.org.uk/files/uk_ncp_complaints_handling_full_report_lores_0.pdf?eHZjEXH9mk6pJMnaNhd33kDJ1A6K6xMo=.

Idem, p. 5.

Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (2016) UK NCP final statement: RAID complaint against ENRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) 10 March 2016 Decision, pp. 19–20. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/506285/BIS-16-156-raid-and-enrc-final-statement-after-complaint.pdf.

See especially paragraph 31 in Department for International Trade (2018) UK NCP follow up to a final statement: Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID) complaint against the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-ncp-follow-up-to-a-final-statement-rights-and-accountability-in-development-raid-complaint-against-the-eurasian-natural-resources-corporation-e/follow-up-statement-after-recommendations-in-complaint-from-raid-against-enrc.

The original National Action Plan is found at Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (2013) Good Business Implementing the UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/236901/BHR_Action_Plan_-_final_online_version_1_.pdf.

Modern Slavery Act 2015.

See https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-concludes-chairmanship-of-global-business-best-practice-initiative.

See https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/standards/Information-about-standards/what-is-a-standard/.

England and Wales share a single legal jurisdiction, though in the past few years, Wales has gained increasing powers in certain areas of law through devolution.

Calder (2008), p. 163.

Norman v Theodore Goddard [1991] BCLC 14.

Companies Act 2006, s 174.

Yap (2010), p. 37.

Department of Trade and Industry (2007) Companies Act 2006 Duties of Company Directions Ministerial Statements, p. 1. https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070628230000/http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file40139.pdf.

Rühmkorf (2015), p. 46.

[2008] EWHC 2810 (Ch) [52].

Cobden Investments Limited v RWM Langport Ltd, Southern Counties Fresh Foods Limited, Romford Wholesale Meats Limited [2008] EWHC 2810 (Ch) [52].

[1942] Ch 304 [306].

[2001] 2 BCLC 80 [105].

See Iesini v Westrip Holdings Ltd [2009] EWHC 2526, the court held that it was not in the best position to make judgements about the weight of the considerations in s172 CA except in very clear cases as these are commercial issues and the directors’ subjective judgements would prevail in these circumstances.

Rühmkorf (2015), pp. 44–45.

Ibid.

[2009] EWHC 3020 (Admin) (QBD (Admin)).

Rühmkorf (2015), p. 47.

Ibid., p. 52.

Ibid., p. 53.

Ibid., p. 66.

Ibid.

Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015.

Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015.

Modern Slavery Act 2015, s 54.

See also Home Office (2015) Transparency in Supply Chains etc. A practical Guide Guidance Issued under section 54(9) of the Modern Slavery Act updated 22 October 2018. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/649906/Transparency_in_Supply_Chains_A_Practical_Guide_2017.pdf.

Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015.

Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015.

Rühmkorf (2015), p. 87. See, also, McCall-Smith and Rühmkorf (2019), pp. 15–45.

Relevant case law includes: Continuing incorporation of the buyer’s CSR policy into long-term contractual relationships and informal agreements: McCutcheon v David MacBrayne Ltd [1964] 1 All ER 430, [1964] 1 WLR 125, HL—English courts have been willing to incorporate terms into a contract by a prior course of dealing which was both regular and consistent. This incorporation is also possible in verbal contracts when the parties previously had regular contractual relationships. For a specific clause to be implied into the verbal agreement there is a need for it to have been included in several previous contracts and the party which asks the courts to imply this specific clause would need to provide documentation that the clause had been incorporated into previous contracts. Hollier v Rambler Motors (A.M.C.) Ltd [1972] 2 Q.B. 71; [1972] 1 All ER 399. The court held that past dealings on three or four occasions over a period of five years is not sufficient to imply a term into a contract by course of dealing between the parties. This case is to be contrasted with the interpretation of ‘regular’ in Henry Kendall Ltd v William Lillico Ltd [1962] 2 AC 31 in which the House of Lords considered three or four dealings per month over a period of about three years as sufficient, which amounted to about a hundred contracts over this period. The threshold of what is ‘regular’ will be somewhere between these two cases.

Poole (2012), p. 8.5.5.

[1962] 2 QB 26.

McKendrick (2010), p. 783.

Poole (2012), pp. 301–312.

Beswick v Beswick [1968] AC 58.

Poole (2012), p. 407. However, the more recent decision of the House of Lords in Co-operative Ins. Society Ltd v Argyll Stores Ltd [1998] A.C.1 arguably indicates a return to a more restrictive approach of the courts to the granting of specific performance as a remedy.

Note of the editors: the initial questionnaire was shared with this title (rules pertaining to criminal law); however, it was later corrected to address torts.

Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act 2007 (applicable in England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland).

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), 11 May 2011 [2011] EWCA Crim 1337; [2012] 1 Cr. App. R. (S.) 26.

[2016] EWHC 779 (QB); [2016] Crim. L.R. 560.

See McCall-Smith and Rühmkorf (2018).

Keith (2015), pp. 10–12.

St John Sutton (1982), p. 178; but see also, Mcilwrath (2016), pp. 451–62.

Koo (2018), pp. 666–683.

The Consensus Building Institute (2012) NCP Mediation Manual. https://www.responsiblebusiness.no/ansvarlignaringsliv-no/files/2015/10/NCP_mediation_manual.pdf.

Ibid.

See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-national-contact-point-for-the-organisation-for-economic-co-operation-and-development-oecd-guidelines-for-multinational-enterprises.

OECD (2011) OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. http://www.oecd.org/investment/mne/48004323.pdf.

OECD (2018) OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct. https://mneguidelines.oecd.org/OECD-Due-Diligence-Guidance-for-Responsible-Business-Conduct.pdf. See also: Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (2014) UK National Contact Point procedures for dealing with complaints brought under the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270577/bis-14-518-procedural-guidance.pdf.

Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, Department for International Development updated 14 January 2011 (2008) Bringing a Complaint under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31723/11-650-bringing-a-complaint-form-oecd-guidelines.pdf.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-national-contact-point-for-the-organisation-for-economic-co-operation-and-development-oecd-guidelines-for-multinational-enterprises.

See generally, McClean and Ruiz Abou-Nigm (2016), chapters 4–7.

Ibid, ch 7.

McCall-Smith and Rühmkorf (2018).

See Adams v Cape Industries plc [1990] BCLC 479.

Ibid. See further McCall-Smith and Rühmkorf (2018).

Civil Procedure Rules, r.6.36 and Practice Direction 6B, para.3.1(9). The practice direction can be found at https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part06/pd_part06b. As to the scope of this sub-head see Fern Computer Consultancy Ltd v Intergraph Cadworx & Analysis Solutions Inc [2014] EWHC 2908 (Ch.); [2014] Bus. L.R. 1397. Case 21/76 Bier BV v Mines de Potasse d’Alsace SA [1978] Q.B. 708.

Civil Procedure Rules Practice Direction 6B paragraph 3.1. The practice direction can be found at https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part06/pd_part06b#3.1.

Vedanta Resources Plc and Konkola Copper Mines Plc (Appellants) v Lungowe and Ors. (Respondents) [2019] UKSC 20. On appeal from [2017] EWCA Civ 1528, confirming the first instance decision [2016] EWHC (TCC).

[2017] EWCA Civ 1528, confirming the first instance decision [2016] EWHC (TCC).

Caparo Industries Plc v Dickman [1990] 2 AC 605.

[2012] EWCA Civ 525; [2012] 1 W.L.R. 3111; [2012] 3 All E.R. 640.

Vedanta Resources Plc and Konkola Copper Mines Plc (Appellants) v Lungowe and Ors. (Respondents) [2019] UKSC 20, para 49.

Ibid., paras 2, 4.

Ibid., para 4, citing Recast Brussels Regulation (Regulation (EU) 1215/2012 on Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters.

Part 6 Practice Direction B para 3.1. The practice direction can be found at https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part06/pd_part06b#3.1.

Vedanta Resources Plc and Konkola Copper Mines Plc (Appellants) v Lungowe and Ors. (Respondents) [2019] UKSC 20, para 21.

Ibid., para 40.

Ibid., paras 60–62.

Ibid., para 40, paras 66 ff.

Ibid., para 40, para 85.

Ibid.

Ibid., para 40, para 98.

Ibid., para 198.

Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell plc [2017] EWHC 89 (TCC), [2017] Bus. L.R. 1335.

Caparo Industries Plc v Dickman [1990] 2 AC 605.

Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell plc [2018] EWCA Civ 191, 14 February 2018, Sales LJ dissenting.

Vedanta Resources Plc and Konkola Copper Mines Plc (Appellants) v Lungowe and Ors. (Respondents) [2019] UKSC 20, para 2 demonstrates that Vedanta exercised ultimate control, though this is a question of fact to be determined.

The Civil Jurisdiction and Judgements Order 2001, Sch. 2, para 4.

Carsey v Coppe, 1951 SC 233 at 243–244.

Article 4 Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I). Available at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32008R0593&from=EN.

100

Note of the editors: the initial questionnaire was shared with this title (rules pertaining to criminal law); however, it was later corrected to address torts.

101

For a comprehensive, detailed and concise description of these different regimes see McClean and Ruiz Abou-Nigm (2016), chapter 10. See further Collins and Harris (2018), chapters 14 and 15.

102

Ibid.

103

Case C-78/95 Hendrickman v Magenta Dock & Verlag GmbH [1996] E.C.R. I-4943. For the growing importance of human rights in assessing public policy, see Oster (2015), p. 542.

104

Case C-7/98 Krombach v Bamberski [2000] E.C.R. I-1935.

Article 52.

Article 45(3).

Article 45(2).

See further McClean and Ruiz Abou-Nigm (2016), chapter 10.

109

See detailed analysis in Collins and Harris (2018), chapter 14.

110

The Acts of 1920 and 1933 are of limited geographical application and the judgments of very many foreign countries are outside their scope. There thus remains a considerable area within which enforcement of a foreign judgment at common law is the only process possible. See further McClean and Ruiz Abou-Nigm (2016), chapter 10.

111

McClean and Ruiz Abou-Nigm (2016), pp. 245ff.

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Collins L, Harris J (eds) (2018) Dicey, Morris & Collins on the conflict of laws, 15th edn. Sweet & Maxwell, London; and Fifth cummulative supplement to the 15th edn (2018)

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McCall-Smith K, Rühmkorf A (2019) From international law to national law: the opportunities and limits of contractual CSR supply chain governance. In: Ulfbeck V, Horowitz A, Mitkidis K (eds) Law and responsible supply chain management: contract and tort – interplay and overlap, 1st edn. Routledge, London, pp 15–45CrossRef

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Titel: United Kingdom
verfasst von: Kasey McCall-Smith
Verónica Ruiz Abou-Nigm
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Buch: Private International Law Aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-35186-1

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-35187-8

Copyright-Jahr: 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35187-8_20

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