The Law Society has proposed that human rights and business training should form part of legal training requirements in line with the UN guiding principles on the same.
The proposal appears in a set of recommendations published in March by the Society's Business and Human Rights Advisory Group in response to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
The guiding principles which were adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council in June 2011, clarify the roles and responsibilities of states and business enterprises in relation to corporate human rights impacts. They seek to '...provide for the first time an authoritative global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse human rights impacts linked to business activity.'
The principles are organised into three pillars:
- The state duty to protect human rights
- The corporate social responsibility to respect human rights
- The need or greater access to remedy for victims of business-related abuse
The Law Society will now consult with members.
By Emma McClure
Civil Liberties Unit
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