Research Handbook on Corporate Legal Responsibility

by Stephen Tully

Overview

The ever-important topic of corporate legal responsibility is deconstructed into many multifaceted components in this fascinating Handbook, which systematically examines each in turn and describes the contemporary legal position.

The Research Handbook on Corporate Legal Responsibility considers general theory and basic concepts such as corporate legal personality, the doctrine of attribution, corporate governance and directors' duties, and reviews the range of individuals to which corporations may be held responsible, particularly employees, suppliers, shareholders, 'stakeholders' and women. The substantive grounds for corporate responsibility under civil and criminal law within the North American and Commonwealth jurisdictions are evaluated, and mechanisms of accountability such as novel regulatory processes (interactive regulation, codes of conduct and social reporting), risk management and the significant role of non-governmental organisations are identified. The thought-provoking chapters contained within this Handbook go on to present perspectives on topical international questions (corruption, labour standards, human rights, environmental protection and sustainable development) including an analysis of recent initiatives from several international organisations.

Bringing together the work of around thirty leading academics, practitioners, campaigners and policymakers from North America, Europe and Australia, each chapter locates these issues within a theoretical context, giving an overview of its historical evolution, providing an accurate account of the current legal position and identifying policy issues likely to influence future developments.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781843768203
Publisher:	Edward Elgar Publishing
Publication date:	12/27/2005
Series:	Elgar Original Reference Series
Pages:	456
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Edited by Stephen Tully, formerly Law Department, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK

Table of Contents

Contents:

Foreword by Michael S. Baram

Preface by Stephen Tully

Part I: Theories and Concepts of Corporate Responsibility
1. The Theoretical Background: The Nature of the Actors in Corporate Social Responsibility
Nicholas H.D. Foster

2. Comparative Corporate Governance Developments and Key Ongoing Challenges from Anglo-American Perspectives
Bryan Horrigan

3. The Fiduciary Duties of Directors: A Proposal for Improving Corporate Governance in Latin America
Cándido Paz-Ares

4. Directors’ Duties within the United Kingdom
Rebecca Parry

5. Regulating the Approach of Companies towards Employees: The New Statutory Duties and Reporting Obligations of Directors within the United Kingdom
Simon Goulding and Lilian Miles

6. Protecting Supplier Interests through English Company Law
Christopher Ruane

Part II: Substantive Grounds for Corporate Legal Responsibility
7. ‘Never Say Never Jurisprudence’: Comparative Approaches to Corporate Responsibility under the Law of Torts
Stephen Tully

8. Corporate Criminal Responsibility
Celia Wells

9. Corporate Criminal Liability in the United States
Joseph F.C. DiMento and Gilbert Geis

10. Moral Indifference and Corporate Manslaughter: Compromising Safety in the Name of Profit?
Simon Pemberton

11. Reforming the Doctrine of Attribution: A Canadian Solution to British Concerns?
Darcy L. MacPherson

12. Sustainable Waste Management: The Challenge for Businesses in Wales
Lorraine B. Frater

Part III: Alternative Accountability Mechanisms
13. In the Dark All Cats are Grey: Corporate Responsibility and Legal Responsibility
John Sabapathy

14. Whistleblowers: The Critical Link in Corporate Accountability
Dana L. Gold

15. The Dutch Corporate Governance Code: Self-Regulation or Interactive Legislation?
Jellienke Stamhuis

16. The Influence of NGOs on the Normative Framework for Business and Human Rights
Rory Sullivan

17. The Interaction between Corporate Codes of Conduct and International Law: A Study of Women and Children in the Textile Industry
Olga Martin-Ortega and Rebecca M.M. Wallace

Part IV: Regional and International Initiatives Towards Corporate Legal Responsibility
18. A Multilateral Contribution to Corporate Standards of Behaviour: The ILO’s Declaration on Multinational Enterprises
Kee Beom Kim

19. Corporate Environmental Liability within the European Union
Catherine Wijnants

20. Corporate Responsibility: The UNEP Experience
Monique Barbut and Cornis van der Lugt

21. Corporate Accountability: An NGO Perspective
Craig Bennett and Helen Burley

22. International Aspects of Corporate Liability and Corruption
Gemma Aiolfi and Mark Pieth

Index

Editorial Reviews

'This volume provides an invaluable collection of essays that consider diverse perspectives on the social responsibility of corporations. As such it provides a very satisfying and balanced combination of contributions that should be useful to any serious student - either in practice or academe - of the role of corporations in society.'

David Crowther

'What I liked in particular about the Handbook was that each chapter identified the issues within a theoretical context and then gave the historical perspective with an accurate account of the current legal position and set down clear markers on the issues likely to influence future developments in corporate responsibility.'

Phillip Taylor

'This book has drawn together a distinguished and international group of writers to provide a wide-ranging discussion of the responsibility of corporations to society in general, including discussion of the role of companies in promoting human rights, accomplishing sustainable development and "restoring and keeping public trust". The contributors put calls for "Corporate Social Responsibility" into its legal framework and provide a wide range of possible solutions to perceived weaknesses in the law. The authors are to be congratulated for adhering to the editorial mandate to provide information in a "succinct style which is comprehensible to the lay person as much as the well-informed". This work is an indispensable tool for anyone engaged in the "globalisation" debate. It gives valuable, international, multi-faceted insights on the current situation, on work-in-progress to create change and of the theoretical perspectives which inform both.'

Janet Dine

'Finally a book that explores the legal considerations related to corporate responsibility, and does so from a global perspective with strong underpinnings of ethics. This book should prove a useful guide for those academics and managers interested in the historical and emerging legal framework that guides corporate decision making around responsibility.'

Sandra Waddock