In 1976 the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, about corporate social responsibility and sustainability, were carried. To implement the guidelines national contact points inform people and enterprises, and mediate in case of a complaint. This article describes the structure, procedure and role of the Dutch and Belgian National Contact Points.

There is no clear answer to the question if corruption makes victims. Currently an (international) discussion is taking place about this matter. On the one hand it can be discussed that corruption in general does not know any direct victims and that corruption can even take place without any damage. On the other hand it is known that corruption can cause tremendous public and financial damage, with society as a whole as the victim of this crime, whether or not in primary gradation. In the underlying article these two perspectives will be discussed and applied on two cases. Special attention will also be paid to the impact and relevance of pointing out the victims.

Multi-national corporations are increasingly facing attention and disapproval by different actors, including authorities, public and (non-) commercial organizations. Digital globalization and especially social media as a low-cost, highly interactive and multidirectional platform shape a unique context for this rising attention. In the literature, much attention has been devoted to top-down approaches and strategies that corporations use to avoid stigmatization and sanctioning of their behaviour. Reactions to corporate harm are, however, seldom researched from a labelling perspective. As a result, corporations are not considered as objects towards whom labelling is targeted but rather as actors who hamper such processes and who, as moral entrepreneurs, influence which behaviour is labelled deviant. Based on theoretical analysis of literature and case studies, this article will discuss how the process of labelling has changed in light of the digitalized, late-modern society and consequently, how the process should be revisited to be applicable for corporate deviance. Given a diversification of moral entrepreneurs and increasingly dependency of labelling and meaning-making on the online sphere, two new forms of labelling are introduced that specifically target institutions; that is bottom-up and horizontal labelling.

The increasing volume of waste generated globally is one of the most prominent environmental issues we face today. Companies responsible for the treatment or disposal of waste are therefore among the key actors in fostering a sustainable future. Yet the waste industry has often been characterised as a criminogenic one, causing environmental harm which disproportionately impacts the world’s most vulnerable regions and populations. In this article, we illustrate how companies operating in global supply chains exploit legal and enforcement asymmetries and market complexities to trade waste with countries where facilities for environmentally sound treatment and disposal of waste are lacking. We draw on two contemporary cases of corporate misconduct in the Global South by companies with operating headquarters in the Global North: Seatrade and Probo Koala. We compare these cases building on theories about corporate and environmental crime and its enforcement. This explorative comparative analysis aims to identify the key drivers and dynamics of illegal waste dumping, while also exploring innovative ways to make the waste sector more environmentally responsible and prevent the future externalisation of environmental harm.

Since the introduction of a human rights chapter in the 2011 OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, National Contact Points (NCPs) have been increasingly dealing with specific instances referring to human rights violations by companies. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the human rights provisions are the most cited provisions of the Guidelines. Specific instances include allegations such as a company’s failure to implement human rights due diligence, to apply the principles of free, prior and informed consent, to take supply chain responsibility, and/or to comply with the right to cultural heritage. Of all topics, human rights due diligence and human rights supply chain responsibilities are most commonly referred to in complaints based on the Guidelines. This article focuses on how NCPs have handled these topics of human rights due diligence and supply chain responsibility in specific instances. The Dutch NCP has been selected because it is celebrated in literature as the ‘gold standard’ because of its composition including independent members, its forward-looking approach, and because it is one of the most active NCPs in the world. All decisions of the Dutch NCP concerning these two topics are analysed in the light of the decisions of four other NCPs (UK, Denmark, Germany and Norway). A doctrinal methodology is used to analyse similarities and differences between the argumentations of the five NCPs.

The past few decades have seen an increasing scrutiny of the impacts – both positive and negative – that companies have on the societies in which they operate. The search for adequate responses to such scrutiny is reflected in developments in the societal, political and academic debate on three separate but interrelated concepts: corporate social responsibility, business and human rights and responsible business conduct. The focus in this Special Issue will be on law and policy relating to responsible business conduct in global value chains. The contributions in this Special Issue identify relevant developments and institutions in the Netherlands, including rules and regulations related to trade, investment and corporate governance as well as cases related to corporate and consumer responsibilities, and assess their role in relation to the potential to provide a positive response to the concern about the human and environmental impacts of business activities. Together, they provide a multi-perspective view of relevant gaps and/or best practices with regard to regulatory governance in the Netherlands while at the same time enabling a comparative debate on the extent to which these diverse developments and institutions are in line with stated policy goals in this context both at national and EU levels. In doing so, this Special Issue aims to contribute to further coherence between national and EU policies with regard to RBC in global value chains and sustainable development.

This article addresses the question of how the Dutch regulatory and institutional setting enables policy coherence, specifically with regard to safeguarding stakeholders’ interests and promoting sustainable governance. To address this question, we engage with idiosyncratic theoretical notions in the Dutch corporate governance model. We follow the evolution of these notions in statutory company law and case law, their development in the Dutch Corporate Governance Code and their relation to the Enterprise Chamber as a unique institution. We establish how these theoretical views and practical institutions present significant means by which stakeholder concerns may be represented in the operation of company law and corporate governance more broadly and provide a number of ways in which these institutions and their operation can be further developed.

The Court of the Astana International Financial Center is a new dispute resolution initiative meant to attract investors in much the same way as it has been done in the case of the courts and arbitration mechanisms of similar financial centers in the Persian Gulf. This paper examines such initiatives from a comparative perspective, focusing on their Private International Law aspects such as jurisdiction, applicable law and recognition and enforcement of judgments and arbitration awards. The paper concludes that their success, especially in the case of the younger courts, will depend on the ability to build harmonious relationships with the domestic courts of each host country.

In dit editorial gaat de auteur kort in op het verband dat mogelijk universeel bestaat tussen ‘criteria’ voor het aannemen van daderschap van de rechtspersoon en de mogelijkheden die bestaan om een bevrijdend disculpatieverweer (in ons stelsel avas) te voeren.

De transactie met ING was een van de meest opvallende gebeurtenissen in de sfeer van het bijzonder strafrecht en de strijd tegen financieel-economische criminaliteit van het afgelopen jaar. Dit artikel bespreekt verschillende redenen waarom dit een belangrijke casus is. Naast de hoogte van het bedrag en de onderliggende criminaliteit, gaat dit artikel in op het strafrechtelijk aansprakelijk stellen van systeembanken en de te verwachten effectiviteit van verbetering van compliancemanagement als transactievoorwaarde.

In deze bijdrage beantwoorden de auteurs de vraag of het wenselijk is om de (algemene) gedragsnormen die onder meer voortvloeien uit de jurisprudentie in Boek 2 BW te codificeren. Voor de beantwoording van deze vraag zullen onder meer de gedragsnormen uit de Companies Act 2006 aan de orde komen.

In de jaren 2014-2017 heeft in Nederland een grote omschakeling plaatsgevonden op het terrein van de handhaving in buitenlandse corruptiezaken. Van een niet-handhaver lijkt Nederland veranderd te zijn in een corruptiebestrijder om rekening mee te houden. Wij verklaren deze ontwikkeling allereerst vanuit het perspectief van Amerikaans buitenlands beleid. Vervolgens beschouwen wij de stand van zaken met betrekking tot buitengerechtelijke afdoening in Nederland, in het bijzonder de hoge of bijzondere transactie en de strafbeschikking. We werpen ten slotte een blik op de toekomst, waarbij wij vooral kijken naar de mogelijkheden van rechterlijke toetsing en het compenseren van buitenlandse slachtoffers.

Ondernemingen rapporteren steeds vaker op vrijwillige basis over duurzaamheid. Dit artikel bespreekt die maatschappelijke trend en de daarop aansluitende regelgeving, zoals de Europese richtlijn die bepaalde ondernemingen verplicht om te rapporteren over niet-financiële onderwerpen, zoals mensenrechten, corruptie en milieu, evenals de mogelijke rol voor de Corporate Governance Code.

Hoewel handhaving van de in 2001 geïntroduceerde strafbaarstelling van buitenlandse ambtelijke omkoping in eerste instantie uitbleef, hebben grensoverschrijdende corruptieschandalen inmiddels tot de hoogste schikkingen in de Nederlandse geschiedenis geleid. In deze bijdrage wordt aandacht besteed aan de overeenkomsten tussen de aanpak van buitenlandse corruptie door Nederland en de handhaving van de FCPA in de VS. Als de Nederlandse schikkingen onder de loep worden genomen, blijkt dat er niet alleen wat betreft de afdoeningsmodaliteit zelf, maar tevens ten aanzien van de voorwaarden bij de schikkingen gelijkenissen te ontdekken zijn. Anders dan in de VS zijn deze voorwaarden echter niet in het beleid van het OM terug te vinden.

In dit artikel gaat de auteur in op de voorgestelde wijzigingen van de Nederlandse Corporate Governance Code op het terrein van risicomanagement. De auteur is positief over de voorgestelde wijzigingen. Wel zijn nog enkele verbeteringen mogelijk.

In RJR Nabisco besliste het Amerikaanse Hooggerechtshof dat de Europese Unie en haar lidstaten in de VS geen civiele vordering konden indienen op basis van de Amerikaanse racketeeringwetgeving wanneer de schade van racketeering buiten de VS is ingetreden. De redenering van het Hof dat deze uitspraak internationale spanning voorkomt, overtuigt niet, integendeel. Deze uitspraak past in een evolutie waarbij Amerikaanse rechtbanken een steeds isolationistischer houding aannemen tegenover transnationale zaken. Men mag verwachten dat dergelijke zaken, met inbegrip van strafzaken, zich steeds meer zullen verplaatsen naar andere jurisdicties, waaronder de EU en Nederland.