Ep. 21: European Model Contractual Clauses to uphold Business and Human Rights in Supply Chains

In this new podcast episode, we discuss the relevance of model contractual clauses in upholding human rights and environmental standards in global supply chains. This episode is timely as the first Draft of the European Model Contractual Clauses were recently released and the public consultation on the draft is open until the 15th of January 2024. It also coincides with the provisional deal reached by the European Parliament and Council of the European Union on the 14th of December on the draft Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive which will contain a provision on the need for model contractual clauses to provide support to companies. The relation between Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence and Contracts is also particularly relevant in relation to the recent national developments and in particular the French Duty of Vigilance Law and the German Supply Chains Act.

This podcast counts with the participation of Dr. Martijn Scheltema (partner of Pels Rijcken, professor at Erasmus Univerity Rotterdam and member of the Dutch Supreme Court Bar since 1997. He has been involved in several international landmark cases with the Dutch Supreme Court (e.g. Srebrenica, SNS expropriation, Urgenda) and business human rights cases (e.g. Shell Kiobel) and Dr. Daniel Schönfelder (RCP's European Legal Advisor and lawyer and lecturer in Business and Human Rights (BHR), actively involved in implementing the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act at an international logistics firm), conducted by our interviewer and research associate of the Center Luís Prata Castro.

Other relevant links to accompany the podcast episode are as follows:
The EMC consultation: https://www.eur.nl/en/esl/events/cons...
NOVA BHRE blogpost by Martijn, B. Braun & me on CSDDD & contracts: https://novabhre.novalaw.unl.pt/contr...
The RCP Toolkit: https://www.responsiblecontracting.or...
NOVA BHRE blogpost on Contracts &LkSG: https://novabhre.novalaw.unl.pt/effec...
NOVA BHRE blogpost on Contracts & OECD: https://novabhre.novalaw.unl.pt/what-...

Credits:
Coordination: Dr. Claire Bright e Luís Prata Castro
Interviewer: Luís Prata Castro
Interviewees: Dr. Martijn Scheltema e Dr. Daniel Schönfelder
Edition: Joana Mendes de Sousa