Contractual Control in the Supply Chain: On Corporate Social Responsibility, Codes of Conduct, Contracts and (Avoiding) Liability

Disasters such as the Rana Plaza factory collapse in 2013 have raised legal questions in respect of the role and responsibility of multinational corporations in respect of their supply chains. This book addresses these questions by focusing on the extent of legal responsibility and liability for corporate social responsibility ("CSR") violations in the supply chains of MNCs in the Netherlands, England and California (United States). It provides an overview of the legal measures a limited number of participating multinationals take in practice, in order to govern their supply chains in terms of CSR. It qualifies these instruments in terms of private law. Moreover, it discusses to what extent multinational corporations can be held liable for CSR violations in their supply chains on a number of legal bases. In identifying the measures that the participating MNCs have taken to govern their supply chain, this research provides valuable insights into those companies that aim to improve the CSR performance in their supply chains and take measures accordingly. Furthermore, it answers the crucial question of what legal impact these measures may have for MNCs, if those measures are not lived up to in practice.