IBA revises Business and Human Rights guidance
A revised version of its Guidance Note on Business and Human Rights: The role of lawyers in the changing landscape has been issued by the International Bar Association.
The new edition updates the guide originally issued in 2016 to assess the implications of the 2011 United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“UNGPs”) and related standards for the legal profession, which were being taken into account by states, businesses and civil society, as well impacting on the law and legal practice.
In 2023, the IBA states, relevance of the UNGPs to the legal profession has rapidly increased, “as evidenced by many factors, such as: the enactment of mandatory human rights due diligence and reporting legislation; the extraterritorial effects of such laws; the assertion of duty of care; corporate liability and responsibility legal claims based on the UNGPs and related standards running either locally and/or overseas; and recognition of the severe human rights harm of environmental impacts, such as climate change”.
The 2023 updated guidance seeks to provide lawyers with insight into the UNGPs and other standards since 2016 to the present date and reflects on “the hardening of soft law” during this time. Developed by an expert group over the last 18 months, it was unanimously endorsed and approved by the IBA Council during the recent IBA annual conference in Paris.
Stéphane Brabant, chair of the drafting group, commented: “The enactment of mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence requires all businesses, including law firms, to adapt. As soft law hardens and broadens, and ESG [environmental, social and governance] principles increasingly influence investment decisions, the Updated IBA Guidance helps lawyers contribute to the business respect for human rights. The enactment of laws requiring due diligence and reporting with extraterritorial impact makes it essential for all lawyers, in many different disciplines, to help their business clients navigate the complexity of these new laws. The goal of the culturally diverse group of expert lawyers who prepared the Updated IBA Guidance was to demystify this new practice area and make it accessible to all lawyers worldwide.”
John Sherman, a leading authority on the UNGPs and a key drafter of both the 2016 and 2023 versions of the guidance, added: “What is soft law today may likely be hard law tomorrow. Therefore, corporate lawyers should not only be technical experts, who advise clients on what they legally can and cannot do. They should also be wise counsellors, who advise clients on alignment with soft law norms, such as the authoritative UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.”