Fall 2012 Course Schedule

Intl Busnss & Hmn Rghts (Co-req meets 5:00-5:50PM) (LAW-808-001)
Orentlicher

Meets: 03:00 PM - 04:50 PM (T) - Room 527

Enrolled: 15 / Limit: 18

Administrator Access


Notices

Co-requisite Intl Business & Human Rights: Business Perspective (LAW-795X) Additional readings not available on the Internet...will be posted on MyWCL.

Description

The course will be offered in two distinct, but closely integrated, sections. A two-hour segment, International Business and Human Rights Law, taught by Professor Orentlicher, will focus on the legal dimensions of international business and human rights, beginning with the postwar prosecutions of business leaders for such crimes as exploiting slave labor and selling poison gas to the Nazis for use in exterminating Jews during World War II and continuing through contemporary human rights litigation against corporations and corporate executives based upon their alleged complicity in human rights violations. A one-hour co-requisite, International Business and Human Rights: The Business Perspective, taught by Professor Gardner, will focus on the increasing importance of corporate social responsibility and the creation of shared value for business, and the crucial role of the financial sector, advocacy groups and the Internet in rewarding (and penalizing) businesses that do not take human rights and sustainability into account. Students must register for both segments.

Textbooks and Other Materials

The textbook information on this page was provided by the instructor. Students should use this information when considering purchases from the AU Campus Store or other vendors. Students may check to determine if books are currently available for purchase online.

First Class Readings

Assigned Readings: 1. Questions for Class Discussion, posted at MyWCL. 2. “Shell Game in Nigeria,” The New York Times (editorial), Dec. 3, 1995, available at http://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/03/opinion/shell-game-in-nigeria.html?pagewanted=print&src=pm 3. “Russian ship carrying helicopters to Syria turns back,” Washington Post, June 19, 2012, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russian-ship-carrying-helicopters-to-syria-turns-back/2012/06/19/gJQAQ616oV_print.html 4. Milton Friedman, “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits,” N.Y. TIMES, Sept. 13, 1970 (Magazine), available at http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/libertarians/issues/friedman-soc-resp-business.html 5. Peter F. Drucker, “The New Meaning of Corporate Social Responsibility,” California Management Review, Vol. 26, Issue 2, Winter 1984, pp. 53-63, posted on MyWCL 6. “Rethinking the Social Responsibility of Business,” A Reason debate featuring Milton Friedman, Whole Foods’ John Mackey, and Cypress Semiconductor’s T.J. Rodgers (Oct. 2005), available at http://reason.com/archives/2005/10/01/rethinking-the-social-responsi 7. Excerpts (paragraphs 1-1.2; 3.1), European Commission, “A renewed EU strategy 2011-14 for Corporate Social Responsibility,” Oct. 25, 2011, available at http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/_getdocument.cfm?doc_id=7010 Further readings (not required, but provided for those interested in exploring this subject further): 1. Kenneth E. Goodpaster and John B. Mathews, Jr., “Can a Corporation Have a Conscience?,” in Harvard Business Review, Jan.-Feb. 1982 2. Chapter 3 (“The Conceptual Foundations of Corporate Social Responsibility”), in Michael Kerr, Richard Janda, and Chip Pitts, eds., Corporate Social Responsibility: A Legal Analysis, LexisNexis Canada Inc., 2009 3. The Danish Government (2008) Action Plan for Corporate Social Responsibility, available at http://www.eogs.dk/graphics/Samfundsansvar.dk/Dokumenter/Action_plan_CSR.pdf 4. Aneel Karnani, “The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility,” The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 23, 2010, available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703338004575230112664504890.html