Thursday, 17 January 2013
14:00 – Opening remarks by :
Peter Jambrek,
former president of the Constitutional Court of Republic of Slovenia and former
judge at the European Court of Human Rights
Matej Avbelj, Dean
of the Graduate School of Government and European Studies,
Jernej Letnar Černič, Vice-Dean of the
Graduate School of Government and European Studies,
Janez Fajfar, Mayor
of Bled.
14:15-15:00 Keynote address : Surya Deva (Hong Kong),
Multinationals, Human Rights and International Law: How to Deal with the Elephant in the Room
Panel 1: Privatization
of Human Rights Law
15:00-15:20 – Daniel
Augenstein (Tilburg), ‘Private’ Human Rights Law: With or Without the State?
15:20-15:40 – Gentian Zyberi (Oslo), Ensuring the Protection of the
Environment from Serious Harm: Towards Shared Responsibility between Corporations
and the State?
15:40-16:00 – Cedric Ryngaert (Leuven, Utrecht), Transnational
private regulation and human rights: The limitations of stateless law and the
re-entry of the state
16:00-16:15 - Discussion
short coffee break
with snacks
Panel 2: Corporations,
Human Rights Abuses, Right to Remedy
16:30-16:50 – Nicolas
Zambrana Tavar (Pamplona), Right to Remedy under the Ruggie framework
16:50-17:10 – Karin
Lukas (Vienna), Right of access to remedy for victims of corporate abuses,
17:10-17:30 - Mary Footer
(Nottingham), The role of due diligence
in the responsible supply of gold and other precious metals from
conflict-affected and high risk areas
17:30-17:50 – Humberto Fernando Cantú Rivera (Geneva, Paris), Corporations and
compliance with international human rights law: from a “responsibility to
respect” to legal obligations and enforcement
17:50-18:10 - Discussion
19:00 conference
dinner, vila Ajda, Bled
Friday, 18 January 2013
Panel 3: The Direct Human Rights Obligations Of Corporations In International Law
9:00-9:20 – Jernej
Letnar Černič, (Kranj) The Direct Human Rights Obligations Of Corporations In International
Law, From Utopia to Reality?
9:20-9:40 – Tara L. Van Ho
(Essex), “Due Diligence” in “Transitional States”: An Obligation for Greater
Transparency?
9:40-10:00 – Jan Wouters and Ann Sofie Cloots (Leuven),
Direct Human Rights Obligations of Business Corporations under International
Law
10:00-10:20 Brigit Toebes (Groningen), Human rights responsibilities of non-state actors in the health sector
10:00-10:15 - Discussion
coffee break
Panel 4: Direct
obligations of companies in international investment law I
10:40-11:00 – Roos van Os
(Amsterdam), Corporate Accountability,
Human Rights and International Investment Agreements: Imbalances and Policy
Options
11:00-11:20 – Adriana
Espinosa González (Madrid): The
conflict between international investment and human rights international
regimes and its effects on human rights protection
11:20-11:40 – Lana Olup (Utrecht, Nova
Gorica), Respecting human rights as an investment strategy
11:40-12:00 – Josh
Curtis (Galway), Implications
of the Obligation to Cooperate for the Renegotiation of International
Investment Law
12:00-12:30 – Discussion
Parallel Panel 5: Direct
obligations of companies in international investment law II
10:40-11:00 – Yannick
Radi (University of Leiden), The
Contribution of International Investment Law to the Horizontalization of Human
Rights
11:00-11:20 – Juan Ochoa-Sanchez (Oslo), Do States Have, or Should Have, a Duty to Ensure the
Observance of Internationally Recognized Human Rights by Transnational
Corporations which are domiciled in Their Territory While Conducting Operations
Abroad?
11:20-11:40 – Ajda Pistotnik (Ljubljana), Human right to water crisis
11:40-12:00 – Mikko Rajavuori (Åbo/Turku), State-owned Enterprises in Business and
Human Rights Agenda
12:00-12:30 –Discussion
Lunch
Panel
6 : Soft law and human rights obligations of companies
13:40-14:00 – Tineke Lambooy (Utrecht), The development of soft law human rights standards for companies towards
legal obligations'
14:00-14:20 – Anna Bulzomi (Brussels), Human Rights & Investment: Opportunities and Challenges in
Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas The case of the Democratic Republic of
Congo
14:20-14:40 – Damiano de
Felice (London), Commercial banks and
human rights: Why market-based initiatives and international proto-regulations
are not enough
14:40-15:00 – Sisay Alemahu Yeshanew (Åbo/Turku), Beyond Intra-African State
Obligations: The utility of the African human rights system to deal with
violations emanating from transnational conducts involving non-African states
15:00-15:20 –Discussion
Parallel Panel 7, Ethics, Criminal Law and Human Rights Obligations of
Companies
13:40-14:00 – Vojko Strahovnik
(Ljubljana), Corporations, group agents and responsibilities
14:00-14:20 – Andrew Spalding
(Richmond), Understanding international corporate bribery as a human rights
violation
14:20-14:40 – Genny Ngende
(Brussels) Establishing corporate liability through vicarious liability
14:40-15:00 – Marko Novak (Nova Gorica), International Human Rights obligations or
human duties for multinational corporations
15:00-15:20 –Discussion
Coffee break with
snacks
Panel 8 : Human Rights Obligations of
Corporations and Tort Law
15:40-16:00 – Cees van
Dam (Utrecht), The role of tort law in protecting human rights
16:00-16:20 – Wei Xiaohong
(Rotterdam) The Alien Tort Statute after Kobel:
A Substitute for the International Criminal Court?
16:20-16:40 – Dorothée Cambou, (Brussels), The Ogoni People vs. Shell: towards greater accountability of
multinational corporations for human rights violations
16:40-17:00 – Sara Andersen (Florence),
Gendered Harms in the Fashion Industry: Lifting the Veil of Multinational
Corporations (MNCs) from an American and Scandinavian Perspective
17:00-17:20 - Silvia
Scarpa (Rome) Direct obligations of Multinational Corporations for the Works
Form of Child Labour in Cocoa Plantations
17:20-17:40 –Discussion
19:00 conference
dinner, Panorama
Saturday, 19 January 2013
Panel 9: International
law, core norms, direct human rights obligations of corporations
9:00-9:20 – Nicholas McMurry (Cork), Fulfilling Rights under
Privatisation
9:20-9:40 – Charline Daelman (Leuven), The Issue of State-Owned Companies in the
Case-law of the European Court of Human Rights
9:40-10:00 – Nicolás Carrillo (Madrid), Direct International
Humanitarian Obligations of Corporations and Other Non-State Entities: Analysis
of the lex lata and the lex ferenda
10:00-10:20 – Karin Buhmann
(Copenhagen), The emergence of ‘a government case for CSR’? How and
why public policy interests are coming to govern CSR through establishing human
rights relevant obligations on business
10:20-10h40 -
Discussion
short break
11:00-13h00 – Final Group Workshop session (all participants)
13:00 – Concluding
remarks (organizers) on workshop and conference publication