International Organizations and Transnational Corporations at a World Court of Human Rights

Abstract

This article is based on the author’s involvement in preparing a Draft Statute for a future World Court of Human Rights. The proposal seeks to modify the traditional vertical structure of human rights norms by introducing a mechanism for adjudicating claims about human rights violations by actors other than states, including by international organizations (IO) or transnational corporations (TNC). The jurisdiction of the World Court would require acceptance by the IO or TNC, making the mechanism similar to the effects of an international treaty, i.e. being legally binding but at the same time based on consent to be bound. When accepting the jurisdiction of the World Court, each IO or TNC could also specify under what substantive human rights norms the right of complaint will apply, and what internal procedures need to be exhausted before an alleged victim can have resort to it.