MODULE SPECIFICATION TEMPLATE
MODULE DETAILS
Module title
Module code
Credit value
Level
Mark the box to the right of the
appropriate level with an ‘X’
Human Rights and Business
LW368
20
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
Level 0 (for modules at foundation level)
X
Level 7
Level 8
Entry criteria for registration on this module
Pre-requisites
Specify in terms of module codes or
equivalent
LW189 Law in Action OR
LW212 Business Law OR
LW272 Law for Marketing OR
LW270 Corporate and Business Law
Co-requisite modules
Specify in terms of module codes or
equivalent
Module delivery
Mode of delivery
Taught
Other
X
Distance
Placement
Pattern of delivery
Weekly
X
Block
Other
Online
When module is delivered
Semester 1
Semester 2
Throughout year X
Other
Brief description of module This module examines the gap in human rights protection which derives
content and/ or aims
from the way the human rights legal regime has been built around state
Overview (max 80 words)
responsibility, leaving transnational corporations and other powerful
businesses out of its framework. What should be done when it is
businesses rather than state authorities which appear responsible in
practice for breaching human rights law? Is accountability possible, and
what form should it take?
Module team/ author/
Marie-Benedicte Dembour
coordinator(s)
School
Brighton Business School
Site/ campus where
Moulsecoomb
delivered
Course(s) for which module is appropriate and status on that course
Course
LLB (Hons) Law with Business
LLB (Hons) Law with Criminology
BSc (Hons) Business/Business Management
BSc (Hons) Business with Marketing/Finance/Economics/HRM
BSc (Hons) Business Management with
Marketing/Finance/Economics/HRM
BSc (Hons) International Business
BA(Hons) Business Studies/Management/Pathways
Module descriptor template: updated Aug 2012
Status (mandatory/ compulsory/
optional)
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
Optional
BSc (Hons) Accounting and Finance
Optional
MODULE AIMS, ASSESSMENT AND SUPPORT
Aims
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Learning outcomes
To develop an understanding of the relationship between
human rights, international law and the state;
To reflect about the governance gap, in particular as it arises
from the role played by businesses in the economic, social and
political world;
To become acquainted with UN initiatives on human rights;
To develop an understanding of the pros and cons of
regulation versus voluntary codes of practice;
To think about the link between business and justice/injustice.
Learning outcomes
On completion of this module students should be able to:
Subject specific:
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Demonstrate an awareness of negative human rights
repercussions of business conduct in a variety of settings;
Demonstrate an understanding of the difficulties of making
business accountable for human rights violations through legal
mechanisms;
Demonstrate a knowledge of the mechanisms developed by
the UN in order to address possible violations of human rights
by businesses;
Demonstrate a critical understanding of the role played by
voluntary codes of practice in regulating business conduct;
Demonstrate a critical understanding of the possibilities of
using domestic systems in order to force accountability onto
businesses.
Discuss the role of the state in the contemporary world;
Demonstrate an ability to reflect upon the relationship between
law, politics and capitalist interests.
Cognitive:
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Content
Read and extract information and organise personal thought;
Provide reasoned arguments based on an informed
understanding of key facts and issues;
 Demonstrate an appreciation that different academic
disciplines approach the same topic differently;
 Demonstrate an understanding of what a critical assessment
involves;
 Use reflection to provide a critical argument.
The organisation of the module and topics covered are expected to
vary from year to year. However, the following concepts will be
covered:
The structure of human rights law and the governance gap
Intergovernmental initiatives, including John Ruggie’s Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights
Module descriptor template: updated Aug 2012
Domestic laws, including incentive, coercive and facilitative
mechanisms
Corporate Social Responsibility
Business ethics
Learning support
Books:
The latest editions of:
Amao, Olufemi, Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Rights and the
law: Multinational Corporations in Developing Countries (Routledge)
Brautigam, Deborah, The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in
Africa (OUP).
Cernic, Jernej Letnar, Human Rights Law and Business: Corporate
Responsibility for Fundamental Human Rights (Europa Law
Publishing).
Deva, Surya and David Bilchitz (eds), Human Rights Obligations of
Business: Beyond the Corporate Responsibility to Respect (CUP).
Joseph, Sarah. Corporations and Transnational Human Rights
Litigation (Hart).
McBarnet, Doreen and Aurora Voiculescu and Tom Campbell (eds),
The New Corporate Accountability: Corporate Social Responsibility and
the Law (OUP).
McBeth, Adam. International Economic Actors and Human Rights
(Routledge).
McPhail, Ken and Diane Walters. Accounting and Business Ethics
(Routledge).
Nissanke, Machiko and Erik Thorbeke (eds), The Poor Under
Globalization in Asia, Latin America, and Africa (OUP)
Simons, Penelope and Audrey Macklin, The Governance Gap:
Extractive industries, human rights, and the home state advantage
(Routledge).
Tully, Stephen (ed.) Research Handbook on Corporate Legal
Responsibility (Edward Elgar).
Zerk, Jennifer A. Multinationals and Corporate Social Responsibility:
Limitations and Opportunities in International Law (CUP).
Periodicals and Journals:
Module descriptor template: updated Aug 2012
Human Rights Quarterly
European Business Organization Law Review (CUP)
Business and Society (Sage)
Corporate Governance (Emerald)
Corporate Governance: An International Review (Wiley-Blackwell)
Journal of Business Ethics (Springer)
International Affairs
Human Rights Law Review
Electronic resources:
Westlaw
Blogs:
http://kluwercompetitionlawblog.com
Teaching and learning activities
Details of teaching and
learning activities
The module will be taught through weekly two-hour seminars. The
students will be expected to have read the assigned reading and
answered both knowledge and reflective questions in advance of each
seminar. There will be a lot of group work during the seminars, which
will then be shared, in order to check knowledge and advance
individual reflection.
Allocation of study hours (indicative)
Study hours
Where 10 credits = 100 learning hours
SCHEDULED
This is an indication of the number of hours students can expect to
spend in scheduled teaching activities including lectures, seminars,
tutorials, project supervision, demonstrations, practical classes and
workshops, supervised time in workshops/ studios, fieldwork,
external visits, and work-based learning.
40
GUIDED INDEPENDENT
STUDY
All students are expected to undertake guided independent study
which includes wider reading/ practice, follow-up work, the
completion of assessment tasks, and revisions.
160
PLACEMENT
The placement is a specific type of learning away from the University
that is not work-based learning or a year abroad.
TOTAL STUDY HOURS
200
Assessment tasks
Details of assessment for
this module
A portfolio (consisting of media and blog clippings + reflections of up to
1,250 words) and a two-hour unseen exam
Types of assessment task1
% weighting
Indicative list of summative assessment tasks which lead to the award of credit or which are required for
progression.
(or indicate if
component is
pass/fail)
WRITTEN
Written exam
50
COURSEWORK
Written assignment/ essay, report, dissertation, portfolio, project
output, set exercise
50
1 Set exercises, which assess the application of knowledge or analytical, problem-solving or evaluative skills, are included
under the type of assessment most appropriate to the particular task.
Module descriptor template: updated Aug 2012
PRACTICAL
Oral assessment and presentation, practical skills assessment, set
exercise
EXAMINATION INFORMATION
Area examination board
Law
Refer to Faculty Office for guidance in completing the following sections
External examiners
Name
Position and institution
Date appointed
Date tenure
ends
Refer to Studentcentral
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Date of first approval
Only complete where this is not the
first version
Date of last revision
Only complete where this is not the
first version
Date of approval for this
version
March 2014
Version number
1
Modules replaced
Specify codes of modules for which
this is a replacement
Available as free-standing module?
Module descriptor template: updated Aug 2012
Yes
No
x