The Conundrum of Corporate Social Responsibility: Reflections on the Changing Nature of Firms and States

25 Pages Posted: 17 Feb 2006

See all articles by Peer C. Zumbansen

Peer C. Zumbansen

McGill University, Faculty of Law; King's College London - The Dickson Poon School of Law

Date Written: 2006

Abstract

The Trail Smelter Arbitrations of 1938 and 1941 still figure as landmark cases in International Environmental law, despite the fact that the debate continues what lessons ought best to be drawn from these proceedings. In the context of contemporary work in the area of transnational corporate activity, wrongful corporate behaviour such as environmental harm or human rights abuses, Trail Smelter can serve as a starting point for the study of effective regulation of trans-territorialized conduct of private actors. The paper highlights the challenges faced by both the persisting attempts to sue multinational corporations before domestic courts and those hoping for efficient outcomes resulting from corporate self-regulation, predominantly under the heading of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The paper places both discussions against the background of an emerging transnational law of corporate regulation, which is characterized by a mixture of domestic and international, public and private regulatory instruments. It is against this background that the lessons from Trail Smelter for the regulation of corporate conduct must be drawn with respect to the transformation of state regulation and the increasing reliance on private self-regulation.

Keywords: Trail Smelter, corporate, public, private, self-regulation

JEL Classification: K1, K10, K22, K33

Suggested Citation

Zumbansen, Peer C., The Conundrum of Corporate Social Responsibility: Reflections on the Changing Nature of Firms and States (2006). CLPE Research Paper No. 01-3, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=885373 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.885373

Peer C. Zumbansen (Contact Author)

McGill University, Faculty of Law ( email )

3644 Peel Street
Montreal, Quebec H3A 1W9
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.mcgill.ca/law/

King's College London - The Dickson Poon School of Law ( email )

Somerset House East Wing
Strand
London, WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

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