Aleydis Nissen book

This book studies the EU's attempts to create a global level playing field to hold non-Western multinational undertakings accountable for human rights abuses. It operates seamlessly between numerous complex legal orders: international law (part I); the perspective of the EU and its Member States (part II); and comparative case studies covering global value chains. (part III).

2023

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The book integrates supranational and national law. It contains a comparative study of law in the two most pro-active EU Member States, France and the Netherlands. It also contains two comparative case studies. Thereto, the author carried out field work in the Kenyan floriculture and the South Korean electronics industries.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 International law
Chapter 3 The European Union
Chapter 4 European Union Member State: France
Chapter 5 European Union Member State: The Netherlands
Chapter 6 Case study: The Kenyan floriculture industry
Chapter 7 Case study: The South Korean electronics industry
Chapter 8 Conclusion

See table of contents >

AWARDS

INTERNATIONAL LAW

Andrés Bello Prize

Awarded during the 80th online session of the Geneva based Institut de Droit International

HUMAN RIGHTS

René Cassin Thesis Prize 2021

Awarded the English language prize by the Strasbourg based Foundation that was founded by René Cassin in 1969

PUBLIC LAW

European Public Law Organization Thesis Prize 2020

Awarded by the Scientific Council in Sounion

Quotes and endorsements

Having taken an in-depth multilingual, comparative approach to the sources used, the International Labour Organization and World Trade Organization regimes, European Union (EU) law and that of its Member States, developing and emerging country case studies are discussed in light of extraterritorial implications and access to effective remedies. This book is a welcome and much-needed contribution to the discussion on the accountability of private transnational corporations from developing and emerging countries for human rights violations abroad. It provides illuminating perspectives on how to strengthen corporate social responsibility by all stakeholders in a highly competitive global arena.

MARCELO KOHEN Professor,
Graduate Institute Geneva

Nissen's book fills an important gap in the literature on corporate accountability... It is unique in showing how the EU, by adopting various measures is creating an artificial level playing field.
Nissen's book is an outstanding read for scholars, practitioners, NGOs and others concerned about corporate accountability and current regulatory and policy developments in the important field of business and human rights, in the EU and beyond.

STEPHANIE BIJLMAKERS Assis. Professor, Tilburg University
Reviewed book in European Law Review (2023) 48(4)

Power in twenty-first century society is increasingly held by private actors, who may be shielded from rights-based accountability by the very nature of human rights law. As Aleydis Nissen's book shows, however, this debate suffers from a number of potentially dangerous blind spots. First, like much scholarship, it suffers from the bias of being developed with the economies and corporations of the developed 'West' in mind. Transnational corporations from the emerging and developing world wield, however, increasing economic power and may carry a quite different set of challenges from a human rights point of view. Second, we often miss a complete understanding of the role of the European Union in the shifting terrain of the global economy. ... Aleydis Nissen's book addresses compelling challenges for global, as well as European, public policy, and is of relevance to scholars working both within and outside the EU context.

MARK DAWSON Professor,
Hertie School
LAURENCE GORMLEY Professor,
University Groningen
JO SHAW Professor, University of Edinburgh

The book is a refreshing contribution to the field of #BHR as the author directs attention to the economic reality of transnational corporations from developing and emerging countries and how their entry into global competition shapes lawmaking, policy, and litigation in Europe.
It may inspire future analyses of evolving legislation with extraterritorial implications, including the pending #CS3D and #EUForcedLabourBan, and transnational case law in Europe and beyond.

LEONARD FELD Advisor, Danish Institute for Human Rights
Reviewed book in Common Market Law Review (2024) 61(3))

Public book talks

11 December 2024 (11h-12h30) Maastricht University (organiser: Valentina Golunova)

28 March 2023 (12h30-14h) University of Antwerp (moderator: Janet Sego; organisers: Johan Meeusen, Deborah Casalin and Aleksandra Kubinska)

1 March 2023 (14h) Geneva Support Group for the Western Sahara, side event 52nd session UN Human Rights Council (organiser: Gianfranco Fattorini)

23 February 2023 (12h15-14h00) Geneva Graduate Institute (discussant: Agustín Giustiniani; moderator: Karem Cardenas Ynfanzon; organisers: Anne Saab and Fuad Zarbiyev)

18 January 2023 (13h-14h) Leiden University (organiser: Melanie Fink)

20 December 2022 (12h30-14h) Ghent University (moderator: Tom Ruys; organiser: Frederik Rogiers)

19 December 2022 (15h30-17h) University of Amsterdam and online (moderator: Ingo Venzke; organiser: Ellysia van der Werf)

1 December 2022 (12h15 - 13h15) Université Libre de Bruxelles (moderator: Anne Lagerwall; organiser: Samara Hussain)

24 November 2022 (13h-14h) KULeuven and online (moderator: Teresa Cabrita; organiser: Elise Muir)

15 November 2022 (16h30-18h) Vrije Universiteit Brussel and online (discussant: João Teixeira de Freitas; organiser: Kristin Henrard)

About the author

Aleydis Nissen is an F.R.S.-FNRS researcher at ULB's Centre de Droit International and an assistant professor in Public International Law at Universiteit Antwerpen. She studied at KULeuven and Cardiff University. She used to work at Vlerick Business School and Leiden University and was a visiting researcher at the University of Nairobi, Seoul National University and the University of Oxford. Read more on her webpage.

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