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Martin-Ortega, Olga; Wallace, Rebecca M.M. --- "The Interaction between Corporate Codes of Conduct and International Law: A Study of Women and Children in the Textile Industry" [2005] ELECD 211; in Tully, Stephen (ed), "Research Handbook on Corporate Legal Responsibility" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005)

Book Title: Research Handbook on Corporate Legal Responsibility

Editor(s): Tully, Stephen

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781843768203

Section: Chapter 17

Section Title: The Interaction between Corporate Codes of Conduct and International Law: A Study of Women and Children in the Textile Industry

Author(s): Martin-Ortega, Olga; Wallace, Rebecca M.M.

Number of pages: 15

Extract:

17 The interaction between corporate codes of
conduct and international law: a study of
women and children in the textile industry
Olga Martin-Ortega and Rebecca M.M. Wallace



Introduction
The topography of international business activity is now punctuated by the
plethora of voluntary codes. Although such codes are commendable they
nevertheless should have some point of reference, rooted in international law.
This is imperative if basic human rights are to be effectively guaranteed. The
guarantee of such rights should not spawn a multinational industry whereby
alleged adherence to human rights is reduced to another quality check akin to
ticking a box. Subscribing to human rights should be undertaken by interna-
tional businesses in respect for uniformly acknowledged standards rather than
simply responding to the advice of their public relations office. Corporate
codes, however stringent and robust they may appear, are the offspring of
corporate discretion to afford human rights a privileged and hallowed position.
This is because companies, the addressees of codes, decide their content and
furthermore enjoy the power to investigate and police themselves. Although
the full glare of adverse publicity has fallen upon some companies, such
`external scrutiny' has, however, been indiscriminate and random. The protec-
tion of human rights within the workplace demands more than a piecemeal ad
hoc approach.
Do the current codes reflect internationally accepted norms? If so, is this
the result of deliberate effort on the part of multinationals or merely fortuitous
coincidence? Why is a reference to international law desirable? The authors
...