Practicing Business Law with Respect for Human Rights

Human rights occupy a unique and vexing place in international politics; the violation of human rights is a transgression that is at once extremely severe and very difficult to prevent or enforce, according to John Sherman. Enforceability is, in fact, a central question in contemporary human rights discourse.

John F. Sherman, III, sees an answer to that question in a surprising place: business. On February 20, Sherman presented a talk titled “Just Lawyering: Practicing Business Law with Respect for Human Rights,” which addressed the complex relationship between businesses (and their lawyers), the government, and human rights.  Sherman, a self-described “recovering corporate lawyer,” is an expert in business law and human rights. He worked with John Ruggie to draft the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, a document outlining the measures companies ought to take to respect human rights and respond to human rights abuses. In addition, he helped found the NGO Shift, the world’s leading center for business and human rights expertise and a major proponent of the Guiding Principles.

In his talk, Sherman explained just how crucial business lawyers can be to the enforcement of human rights protections. Lawyers’ counsel plays an enormous role in company decision-making, for instance, so if business lawyers maintain a commitment to the Guiding Principles, the companies they advise will as well. Sherman also specifically highlighted the role that private contract law plays in ensuring that the Guiding Principles are observed. Writing the Guiding Principles into contracts turns previously unenforceable ideals for companies’ conduct regarding human rights into concrete human rights protections that companies are contractually obliged to uphold.

These measures can have a massive effect; Sherman used the example of FIFA, which––in a bid to repair its image following corruption and human rights abuse scandals––demanded that every contractor in its supply chain comply with the Guiding Principles. FIFA’s enormous network of corporate relationships means that the positive impact of its newfound commitment to human rights will be felt worldwide.

Moreover, business lawyers’ influence does not end in the corporate sphere. When governments fail to protect human rights, businesses––guided by their lawyers––can step in to pick up the slack, said Sherman. For instance, in response to President Trump’s Executive Order banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries (considered by many to be clear infringement on human rights), 125 companies took part in a legal challenge to the Order. Business lawyers are decisive in such efforts.

In an increasingly globalized world, where nationalist and protectionist movements are gaining political force in the United States and abroad, Sherman argues that businesses and business lawyers must be increasingly prepared to confront human rights abuses that states will ignore or even cause. As states disregard human rights more and more readily, the question of enforcement becomes more and more critical, Sherman said.

The talk was co-sponsored with the Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights and the Institution for Social and Policy Studies.