Multinational Enterprises and the Law II

This module provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary study of the social issues raised by the cross-border operations of multinational enterprises (MNEs), as well as the regulatory frameworks at national, multilateral and international levels designed to address these issues.

This includes consideration of the limits imposed on regulatory responses by the specific character of the business and legal organisation of MNEs and the regulatory choices open to policy makers. In this regard, the module Multinationals and the Law I studied in term 1 provides a foundation upon which this module expands. Together, the two modules offer grounding in different aspects of national and international law and will enhance understanding of the interface between commercial and public interest aspects of the law.

The focus of this model is on the social dimension of the operations of MNEs in relation to areas such as access to justice, corporate governance, business and human rights, the environment and the regulation of the transnational space by international organisations.

The comprehensive, interdisciplinary character of the module means that it provides a legal overview in which each aspect of the regulatory matrix is linked to and flows from the rest as well as from the topics covered in Multinationals and the Law I studied in term 1. The interface between the different aspects of the module enables connections to be made and information to be drawn from the different issues covered by the module so that they may be brought together in the context of, for example, the chosen essay topic.

Workload

• Weekly 2-hour seminar

Scope and syllabus

1. Regulation through Company Law I: Group Liability and Directors Duties
2. Regulation through Company Law II: Group Liability and Transnational Tort
3. Litigation
4. Regulation through Company Law III: Corporate Governance and Disclosure
5. Corporate Social Responsibility
6. Taxation
7. International Financial Institutions and their Social and Economic impact
8. Human Rights and MNEs
9. The Environment, Earth Jurisprudence and MNEs

Method of assessment

• Essay: 30% (2000 words)
• Unseen written exam: 70%

Suggested reading

• Peter T Muchlinski, Multinational Enterprises and the Law ( 3rd edn OUP 2021)
• Christian A. Witting, Liability of Corporate Groups and Networks (CUP 2018)
• Janet Dine and Marios Koutsias, The Nature of Corporate Governance: the significance of national cultural identity, (Edward Elgar 2013)
• Michael Blowfield and Alan Murray, Corporate Social Responsibility (Oxford University Press 2019)
• Surya Deva David Birchall (eds) Research Handbook on Human Rights and Business (Edward Elgar 2020)
• Christopher D. Stone, Should Trees have Standing: Law Morality and the environment (3rd edn Oxford University Press 2010)
• Michael Hudson, Super Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire (ISLET-Verlag 2021)
• Nick Buxton , State of Power 2020: The Corporation (Transnational Institute 2020)
• Daniel P. Corrigan, Markku Oksanen (eds), Rights of Nature : A Re-examination (Routledge 2021)

Disclaimer

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.