IBA Draft Guidance for Business Lawyers on Human Rights

In December 2014, the International Bar Association (IBA) Business and Human Rights Working Group opened a public consultation on its draft guidance for bar associations and business lawyers (‘Draft IBA Guidance’) on the application of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

The Draft IBA Guidance is divided into two working guidance documents: one for business lawyers, both in-house lawyers and external counsel in law firms;and the other for bar associations.

The Draft IBA Guidance was published on 23 October 2014 during the IBA Annual Conference in Tokyo, following a six-month consultation and drafting process facilitated by the IBA Legal Projects Teamin collaboration with the IBA Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee.

This IHRB submission welcomes this first of its kind guidance directed toward improving the competencies of business lawyers both in-house and outside counsel. It offers recommendations to enhance the depth of the guidance and make it even more relevant for the day-to-day practice of the legal profession.