Abstract: As global supply chains become increasingly lengthy and complex, human rights due diligence in supply chains is becoming a controversial focal point in the accountability of multinational corporations. In recent years, legislative practices in the field of human rights due diligence have shown a trend of development from voluntary soft law towards mandatory hard law, and from corporate due diligence for their own operations towards extended due diligence for the entire supply chain. However, there is a divergence in national practices regarding the extent to which human rights due diligence should extend to the supply chain and the manner in which it should be incorporated into domestic legal policies. International soft law interpretations surrounding the boundaries of human rights due diligence in supply chain are decentralized, posing risks of interpretation diversification, boundary blurring, and procedural formalization, as well as risks of misinterpretation and misuse. Meanwhile, some countries and regions are vigorously promoting mandatory legislation on human rights due diligence in supply chain, which has profound implications for the stability of global supply chains and the international economic and trade order. Against this backdrop, it is crucial to explore the reasonable boundaries of human rights due diligence in supply chain. Instead of applying a one-size-fits-all approach, China should consider the rationality of legal factors and the complexity of practical factors, applying context-specific measures based on the varying degrees of linkage between companies and negative human rights impacts in supply chains. It should be particularly wary of the “Chilling Effect” of mandatory legislation on human rights due diligence in supply chains, attaching great importance to nation supply chain security. Additionally, it should actively promote the implementation of voluntary human rights due diligence under the United Nations framework, and accelerate the enhancement of its own discourse power in the international rule-making process in the fields of industry and commerce as well as human rights.

Key Words: industry, commerce and human rights; human rights due diligence; supply chain; international soft law; mandatory due diligence

Author: Wang Huiru, assistant research fellow, CASS Institute of International Law;

Source: 2 (2024) Human Rights.