The UN Supply Chain Treaty Negotiations: Between Transnational Civil Litigation and Public Law Beyond Borders

Abstract

The negotiations on a treaty to regulate global supply chains and their impact on human rights will hold its tenth session in December 2024. The question the negotiations address is not completely new: previous efforts, starting in the 1970s at the United Nations,1 tried to establish international obligations for “transnational corporations” (TNC), but found the issue of defining the subject to be regulated challenging. Academia and civil society also took turns defining the concept, although much of the focus equally revolved around the issues surrounding or caused by transnational corporations (i.e., the resource curse, regulatory chill, etc.). However, the current debate in the intergovernmental working group established by the Human Rights Council has focused, among other important elements, on defining the object of regulation—transnational corporations or transnational business activities—as well as the specific forms of liability under domestic law that could be used in cases of human rights harms or environmental degradation caused by business enterprises. This contribution addresses these two issues, considering some of the debates during the ninth session, and exploring aspects that need to be considered as the process moves forward.