Topic 1:A UK TNC is worried that its published commitments to human rights due diligence in respect of companies within the group and in relation to its supply chains might leave it exposed to civil liability topic 2:Report on the impact of the European Commission’s decision dated 4 May 2021 - that the European Union should not give its consent to the accession of the United Kingdom to the 2007 Co

Abstract

topic1:When advising a UK transnational corporation (TNC) whether it might be exposed to civil liability due to the companies within its group and subcontractors and affiliates within its supply chains not meeting the published commitments to human rights due diligence, it must be emphasised that there still exists a plethora of significant legal hurdles which human rights victims must overcome. That is to say, while a transnational tort law claim may be pursued against a UK TNC, the probability of a successful outcome is not yet skewed in favour of complainants, as the law is unclear. While English case law is moving closer towards exposing UK TNCs to civil liability when due diligence commitments are not met by its subsidiaries following Vedanta Resources Plc and Konkola Copper Mines Plc v Lungowe and Ors. [2019] UKSC 20, this still only remains a possibility, but not a certainty. topic2:The non-binding decision by the European Commission dated 4th May 2021 recommends that the EU Member States should not consent to the UK’s re-accession application to the Lugano Convention. If the decision was not followed by the EU Member States, the Lugano Convention could be evoked and this would go some way to counter torpedo actions, similar to the Recast Regulation which counters such abusive litigation strategies to some extent. However, in the more likely scenario that the EU Member States follow the advice of the European Commission, the only option is to revert back to the Hague Convention on Choice of Courts Agreements 2005 (Hague Convention). This has several drawbacks and may lead to an increase in torpedo actions. Also, when the Hague Convention cannot be evoked domestic laws solely govern torpedo actions, which thereby adds significant legal uncertainties when resolving cross-border disputes, i.e., where one party is based in the UK and the other party is situated in a European Union Member State.