New ECCJ Report on Corporate Accountability
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008
A new legal study produced by The European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ), details potential for legal reforms to enable victims of corporate abuse to find justice in Europe.
JUSTICE POSSIBLE FOR VICTIMS OF EUROPEAN COMPANIES AROUND WORLD
Brussels, 29 May 2008 – Victims of human rights and environmental abuses by European companies around the world could find justice in European courts under proposals unveiled today at an international conference at the European Parliament. [1]
The European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ) – a leading network of over 250 civil society organisations around Europe – has revealed policy proposals developed by a team of legal experts which if adopted by the European Union would guarantee the legal responsibility of companies based in Europe, and their directors, for human rights or environmental violations committed by their subsidiaries or subcontractors anywhere in the world.
ECCJ has found that the legal structure of companies and weak accountability mechanisms all too often result in ethical mismanagement by companies. From mercury poisoning in South Africa to child labour in India, companies’ breaches of environmental and human rights standards have revealed