The U.S. government and the multinational business community face an emerging foreign policy challenge: Under what circumstances should U.S. courts serve as an appropriate forum to hold corporations accountable for “human rights abuses” connected to their global operations? More broadly, what role should U.S. courts play in “globalizing” respect for international human rights standards and the rule of law in global economic activity?

This project attempts to take up this challenge by identifying the elements of a new framework of standards and the process by which it might be developed. It aims to define to what extent a new regime for defining the scope of transnational liability for multinational business conduct should include the following elements:

Jurisprudential rules that favor local solutions rather than recourse to U.S. (or foreign) courts;

Clearly defined and broadly accepted minimum standards for acceptable local relief—so that foreign courts (or policy makers) can determine whether plaintiffs have meaningful access to effective relief in their local courts;

Joint liability rules that acknowledge the closeness of commercial and investment relationships in the global economy;

Substantive standards that promote the progressive upward harmonization of business practices affecting environmental and labor conditions, or respect for civil and political rights; and

Linking foreign assistance or trade preferences to the effective administration of justice, including effective protection not only for private corporations in commercial disputes but also for victims of business practices that violate national laws or international norms.

This Study Group helps to inform an article written by Elliot Schrage, the project director, that analyzes the growing role and significance of American courts as arbiters of corporate conduct such as human rights practices of multinational corporations. Schrage offers policy recommendations that balance concerns for national sovereignty, respect for international standards, and the benefits of global economic integration.