HUMAN RIGHTS AND PRIVATE CORPORATIONS A DUTCH LEGAL PERSPECTIVE Sophie van Bijsterveld" IV C2 Introduction The applicability of human rights to private parties, including private corporations, is a theme of doctrinal constitutional interest The basic question is whether standards which are meant to function in the relationship between the private individual and the state,and which guarantee the private individual rights vis-a-vis the state are also plicable in relationships between private individuals, and, if so, which legal techniques can be used to construe such an application Of particuar interests is how courts, confronted with these questions, contribute to the development of the aw in this field. In the Netherlands, the doctrinal debate on these issues reached its height in the 1970s and 1980s. It coincided with the adoption of a new Constitution in 1983 This Constitution came into force after a process of general revision, the first proposals of which were introduced in Parliament in the second half of the 1970s The revision was of particular im portance in the field of humanrights While these questions remain relevant, the socal and legal contexts in which these questions appear have undergone a significant change in recent decades. One factor of importance is the changing role of the state in the development of lw Traditionally, in the Netherlands, the Legislature is the preem inent lawmaker. Not surprisingly, the Constitution of 1983 likewise attributes a strong role to the nationa (parliamentary )Legislature. Awareness of the lim itations of the regulatory power of the state has, however, manifested itself and opened the door to altemative approaches. This also influences the debate on human rights and private Another important factor is the increased role of international law within the national legal order. In terms of this study, it is of interest that in the fomulation of international human rights standards, the relevance of private parties, notably corporate entities, is more evident than in national human rights guarantees. It is urther reflected in the responsibility of the national state under international law to ensure hu Iman rights in private(corporate)contexts Third, the human rights discussion itself has progressed. This is particulrly apparent in the manner in which the various actors, whether private groups or persons or public bodies, are involved in the human rights debate and the role they are perceived to play by others Fourth, not only has their been a na tural shift in the interest in particular human rights in private corporations, the discussion is currently framed in a much broader context of that of corporate social responsibility and ethicalentrepreneurship This essay analyses and discusses the developments in the legal debate on the applicability of human rights standards to priva te corporations in the Netherlands Although the focus is on the Netherlands, it is not easy to isolate the topic from the broader discussion of human rights and multinational enterprises. General features of the latter discussion will, therefore, resonate throughoutthis essay as well Associate Professor of European and Public Intemational Law, Faculty of Law, Tilburg UniversityHUMAN RIGHTS AND PRIVATE CORPORATIONS A DUTCH LEGAL PERSPECTIVE Sophie van Bijsterveld* IV C 2 1 Introduction The applicability of human rights to private parties, including private corporations, is a theme of doctrinal constitutional interest. The basic question is whether standards which are meant to function in the relationship between the private individual and the state, and which guarantee the private individual rights vis-à-vis the state are also applicable in relationships between private individuals, and, if so, which legal techniques can be used to construe such an application. Of particular interests is how courts, confronted with these questions, contribute to the development of the law in this field. In the Netherlands, the doctrinal debate on these issues reached its height in the 1970s and 1980s. It coincided with the adoption of a new Constitution in 1983. This Constitution came into force after a process of general revision, the first proposals of which were introduced in Parliament in the second half of the 1970s. The revision was of particular importance in the field of human rights. While these questions remain relevant, the social and legal contexts in which these questions appear have undergone a significant change in recent decades. One factor of importance is the changing role of the state in the development of law. Traditionally, in the Netherlands, the Legislature is the preeminent lawmaker. Not surprisingly, the Constitution of 1983 likewise attributes a strong role to the national (parliamentary) Legislature. Awareness of the limitations of the regulatory power of the state has, however, manifested itself and opened the door to alternative approaches. This also influences the debate on human rights and private corporations. Another important factor is the increased role of international law within the national legal order. In terms of this study, it is of interest that in the formulation of international human rights standards, the relevance of private parties, notably corporate entities, is more evident than in national human rights guarantees. It is further reflected in the responsibility of the national state under international law to ensure human rights in private (corporate) contexts. Third, the human rights discussion itself has progressed. This is particularly apparent in the manner in which the various actors, whether private groups or persons or public bodies, are involved in the human rights debate and the role they are perceived to play by others. Fourth, not only has their been a natural shift in the interest in particular human rights in private corporations, the discussion is currently framed in a much broader context of that of corporate social responsibility and ethical entrepreneurship. This essay analyses and discusses the developments in the legal debate on the applicability of human rights standards to private corporations in the Netherlands. Although the focus is on the Netherlands, it is not easy to isolate the topic from the broader discussion of human rights and multinational enterprises. General features of the latter discussion will, therefore, resonate throughout this essay as well. * Associate Professor of European and Public International Law, Faculty of Law, Tilburg University