Business and Human Rights

Multidisciplinary team of lawyers working closely with our clients to help them with their environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) strategies, identifying needs based on companies’ area of activity and offering clear solutions contributing to legal certainty.

The impact of business activity on human rights is increasingly becoming a subject of regulation in the European Union, as well as in the other jurisdictions of the global market.

In the European Union, the lawmaker is designing a positive regulatory framework which, based on the international soft law instruments of business due diligence, establishes the duty of businesses to meet standards of conduct in relation to human rights, the environment and climate change when operating in the EU or outside of it. This regulatory framework, based on the do-not-harm principle ensures access to legal remedy before the judges and adjudicative bodies of the Member States.

The Cuatrecasas Business and Human Rights Practice was launched to help clients navigate in this new context involving legal, financial and reputational risks. Our services are as follows:

  • Designing and implementing processes for identifying, mitigating and correcting risks, including corporate complaints and rectification procedures concerning human rights and the environment, as well as advising on internal and external investigation processes, on accountability, and on preventing green washing and social washing.
  •  Identifying and managing the impact risks of transactions and investment projects on human rights and the environment, including contractual regulation.
  • Designing due diligence and supervisory contractual frameworks for the supply chain.
  • Representing in (i) civil and administrative proceedings before state and international courts and other adjudicative and non-adjudicative bodies, e.g., the OECD’s national contact points, special proceedings under the UN’s universal system of human rights protection, and national control bodies established under the due diligence regulations regarding human rights; and (ii) civil claims of human rights violations in international commercial and investment litigation or arbitration.
  • Representing in (i) strategic litigation involving constitutional matters (protection); (ii) litigation relating to climate and the environment based on human rights; and (iii) litigation relating to false advertising, green washing, social washing, unfair competition, actions by consumers and actions relating to directors' liability.

Cuatrecasas is a firm that you can always count on, nationally and internationally, in the face of any complex problem.

Chambers & Partners, 2025

Related Practices