Publications

The issue of corporate responsibilities has had a tumultuous history at the United Nations. When the Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed John Ruggie’s Guiding Principles in June 2011, it was the first time that the UN stated authoritatively its expectations in the area of business and human rights. This volume captures this special moment in time: a moment of taking stock of a successfully concluded UN Special Representative mandate (2005–2011) and of preparing for the massive task of following up with more operational guidance, effective governance mechanisms and sound theoretical treatments.

The 12 chapters in this collection offer an in-depth analysis of Ruggie’s reports with a special emphasis on regulatory and governance issues surrounding corporate responsibility. How does international human rights law handle corporations? Are we beginning to grasp the complexities and impacts of financial markets on human rights? What kind of corporate due diligence can make supply chains more socially sustainable? Why should parent companies act when their affiliates infringe rights? What is the potential of national human rights institutions in the area of business and human rights? What is the role of states and law in the social change process promoted by the corporate responsibility movement? How do we ‘orchestrate’ polycentric governance regimes to ensure respect for human rights?

Academics and practitioners, policymakers, business executives, civil society activists and legal professionals will find this collection useful as they embark on the difficult but exciting journey of refining and contextualising Ruggie’s foundational work.

Abstracts of the 2005 Conference on COST Action E23 “Biotechnology for Pulp and Paper Manufacture: From Tailor-Made Biocatalysts to Mill Application” which took place in Baiona (Pontevedra, Spain) on 26-29 April 2005.

Algorithmic discrete mathematics plays a key role in the development of information and communication technologies, and methods that arise in computer science, mathematics and operations research – in particular algorithms, computational complexity, distributed computing and optimization – are vital to modern services such as mobile telephony, online banking and VoIP.

Abstracts of the COST E35 Training Workshop on “The Mechanics of Cutting Wood & Dynamic Compression Testing of Wood Using Split Hopkinson Bars”, which took place in reading, UK on 5-6 April 2005.