This book explores the intersection of two emergent and vibrant fields of study in international human rights law: transitional justice and corporate accountability for human rights abuses. While both have received significant academic and political attention, the potential links between them remain largely unexplored. This book addresses the normative question of how international human rights law should deal with corporate accountability and violations of economic, social and cultural rights in transitional justice processes. Drawing on the Argentinian transitional justice process, the book outlines the theoretical and practical challenges of including corporate accountability in transitional justice processes through existing mechanisms. Offering specific insights about how to deal with those challenges, it argues that consideration of the role of all actors, and the whole spectrum of human rights violated, is crucial to properly address the root causes of violence and conflict as well as to contribute to a sustainable and positive peace.This interdisciplinary book will be of interest to students and scholars of transitional justice, human rights law, corporate law and international law.
Laura García Martín is a postdoctoral researcher and teaching assistant at University of Seville and University of Antwerp. Her research interests include the socio-economic dimension of transitional justice and business and human rights.
Introduction PART I – TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS Chapter 1 - Analysing the Transitional Justice paradigm Introduction Background and evolution of Transitional Justice Defining the Transitional Justice Paradigm Transitional Justice Processes and Mechanisms Truth Justice Reparations Institutional Reform Transitional Justice Theories Socio-political aspects of Transitional Justice Intermediate conclusions: A unique model of transitional justice? Chapter 2 – Socio-economic Rights in Transitional Justice Introduction Contextualising socio-economic rights in International law Labour rights as socio-economic rights: a particular focus on freedom of association at the workplace Labour rights as human rights Freedom of association at the workplace: the right to form and join trade unions and the right to collective bargain Traditional invisibility of socio-economic rights in transitional justice contexts Addressing socio-economic rights in transitional justice processes Truth and reconciliation commissions Judicial Processes Reparations policies Institutional reform Intermediate conclusions: the added value of addressing socio-economic rights in transitional justice PART II: CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY IN TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE Chapter 3 – Corporate legal accountability for human rights abuses Introduction Clarifying the notion of corporate complicity for human rights abuses Policy meaning and legal implications Categories of corporate complicity Direct corporate complicity Indirect complicity Silent complicity Corporate a