Business and Human Rights:

A PRACTICAL GUIDE
Business and human rights: A practical guide

Robert Bourns
President
Foreword
We hope our guide on business and human rights will be a
useful resource for all practitioners and firms, including those
working in specific practice areas of law such as corporate
governance, enterprise risk management, reporting and
disclosure and disputes. It builds on existing resources, such
as the IBAs Business and Human Rights Guidance for Bar
Associations and the IBAs Practical Guide on Business and
Human Rights for Business Lawyers and its reference annex
launched in 2016.
Promoting business, human rights and supporting the
legal profession is central to the our work. We believe that
promoting business growth and respecting human rights
go hand in hand. We were one of the first national bar
associations to launch a national engagement programme
on the United Nations General Principles on Business and
Human Rights (UNGPs) and actively campaigned on this
issue for a number of years at home and internationally.
Business and human rights: A practical guide
We have worked to ensure there is awareness of business and
human rights in the legal profession. We have asked solicitors
to start by looking within their own firms and businesses
to assess their human rights impact. We encouraged firms
to consider adopting steps to manage risks and prevent
and tackle potential abuse. We also encouraged solicitors
and firms to look outside their own firms and consider how
best to support their clients, including compliance with the
requirements of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
I am delighted that the legal profession is very engaged with
this subject. Across the country firms and practitioners are
leading by sharing peer learning and experience to ensure
that in their own supply chains and advice to clients human
rights are fully respected and risks are mitigated. I very
much hope that this guide is a useful resource for this work
to be facilitated and enhanced, supporting our members as
trusted advisors of their clients and businesses in which they
are employed.
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 Business and human rights: A practical guide
1. Business and human rights in the legal
profession in England and Wales
Human rights are relevant to solicitors and law firms as legal
service providers and as businesses themselves.
1.1 Legal advisers and business
and human rights
In their role as legal advisers, solicitors - both in-house
counsel and external advisers - are increasingly asked by
clients to help them understand their responsibilities with
respect to human rights and how it may impact their
business activities.
Business and human rights related issues may arise in a
variety of areas in which solicitors provide legal advice, such
as transactional, advisory, and litigation work.
Solicitors play a key role in assisting their clients to identify
human rights related risks and to devise strategies for
avoiding adverse impacts.
It may be the case that clients are unaware of developments
in business and human rights, in which case solicitors are
encouraged to raise awareness of legislation, policy and
international and national principles on the subject when
giving their advice. Businesses can then decide whether to
establish internal mechanisms to identify potential human
rights risks and mitigate them, as well as integrate principles
on business and human rights into their corporate policies
and reporting frameworks. Such measures may also benefit
a companys reputation, since it will be seen by the public
and industry peers as adhering to international best practice.
1.2 Law firms as business enterprises
The manner in which a law firm operates has an effect on its
management, employees, service providers, suppliers, and
clients. Law firms have their own supply chains, procurement
processes and employment practices. Therefore, appropriate
measures should be taken to prevent any adverse impact by
themselves adhering to international and national standards.
Law firms may wish to focus their human rights impact
assessment on the following three areas:
C
 lient relationships and the legal services provided
pursuant to those relationships
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C
 ommercial supplier relationships and the goods
and services purchased to support the firms
operations, including outsourcing arrangements;
(e.g. agency staff for cleaning and security, suppliers
of stationary and catering) and
Employment practices and health and safety.
They may consider making the respect for human rights
part of their mission statement or law firms values and
ensuring that there is a clear culture in their organisations
to treat everyone with dignity and respect.
Law firms may also adopt a company policy on human
rights, distribute it among employees, suppliers, and other
stakeholders. Firms may also clarify how the policy benefits
the law firms activities, and how its clients, staff and others
benefit from the expectations set out in the policy. Firms
may also consider having procurement rules which allow
for the exclusion of a tender where there is information
showing misconduct by the company.
Moreover, training may be provided to employees in
functions relating to risk and compliance, procurement,
and human resources, as well as to contractors in order
to develop skills and experience that will allow them to
identify human rights related risks and take appropriate
measures to support these. This could include, making sure
that the agency staff that they retain are treated fairly and
paid properly.
Regarding client relationships, solicitors may decide to
conduct a human rights due diligence on their clients
in addition to complying with applicable regulatory
requirements concerning, for example, conflicts of interest
and anti-money laundering. The outcome of such a due
diligence could be shared with the relevant fee-earners who
provide legal services to the client so that they are better
able to:
Identify potential human rights related risks associated
with the client and its instructions and discuss these
with colleagues and the client, as required;

Raise and explore with the client human rights issues
that may be relevant to the legal advice required; and
Integrate any potential outcomes of the human rights
due diligence into retention letters, legal advice and
case management.
2. Impact of human rights on UK
businesses, solicitors and law firms
2.1 United Nations Guiding Principles
on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)
Although the UNGPs and other international principles do
not directly give rise to legal obligations, they have received
wide support as instruments that establish best practice for
the private sector.
The UNGPs were issued by UNs Human Rights Council in
2011 and unanimously endorsed. Ever since, the Principles
have been considered as an authoritative reference point
for businesses behaviour and are recognised as such by the
Committee of Ministers of the EU, the G7 and incorporated
in important frameworks such as the OECD Guidelines
on Multinational Enterprises, the UN Global Compact on
Human Rights and Labour Principles and the European
Parliament directive on disclosure of non financial and
diversity information.
Since the endorsement of the UNGPs, significant steps
were taken by governments, businesses and consumers to
identify, mitigate and tackle the impact of human rights in
business. Governments developed national action plans on
business and human rights - the UK was first and a number
of countries followed. Businesses, big and small, embedded
the principles in their own policies and practices. Consumers
all over are increasingly demanding transparency and
accountability in business.
Business and human rights: A practical guide
1.3 Further guidance
Further guidance for businesses in general and the relevant
links to legislation, policy and international instruments can
be found in appendix b the Further Resources section on
page 11. Solicitors may wish to familiarise themselves with
information relevant to their practice areas, client base and
mode of operation.
Furthermore, a surge in new legislation invoking common
principles such as the UNGPs, has included the EU Non-
Financial Reporting Directive (2014/95/EU), which is due to
be transposed into law in the UK by the end of 2016 which
will require large public interest entities to disclose in their
management report relevant information on their policies,
main risks and outcomes relating to, amongst other areas,
respect for human rights.
2.2 The Modern Slavery Act 2015
An example of the importance of international standards on
business and human rights and their incorporation into the
domestic legal framework is the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015.
The Act came into force in 2015 and includes a provision
to encourage business to take action to ensure their end-
to-end supply chains are free from slavery. It also requires
large businesses, with an annual turnover of 35 million that
operate at least a part of their business in the UK, to issue
an annual statement to confirm what steps, if any, have
been taken to ensure that no forced labour or trafficking is
involved in their supply chains.
These can relate to:
(a) the organisations structure, its business and its
supply chains;
(b) its policies in relation to slavery and human trafficking;
(c) its due diligence processes in relation to slavery and
human trafficking in its business and supply chains;
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 Business and human rights: A practical guide
(d) the parts of its business and supply chains where
there is a risk of slavery and human trafficking taking
place, and the steps it has taken to assess and
manage that risk;
(e) its effectiveness in ensuring that slavery and human
trafficking is not taking place in its business or
supply chains, measured against such performance
indicators as it considers appropriate;
(f) the training about slavery and human trafficking
available to its staff.
While the Act was largely welcomed, concerns were raised
about its limitations and the lack of time businesses have to
prepare. The reporting obligation applies to financial years
starting on or after the 1st of April 2016. Some changes that
businesses have put in place to comply with the Act are:
Developing anti-slavery and human trafficking policies; and/or
including these in corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies;
Developing processes to investigate business and supply
chain (contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers, contracts,
etc.) to determine the level of risk or exposure to risk;
Identifying and prioritising high risk areas in the supply
chain and planning and setting out what steps are being
taken to address the risks;
Appointing senior individuals within companies with
responsibility for investigation, compliance and the
production of the statement;
Identifying training needs within companies to ensure that
all responsible staff involved in supply chain management
and procurement are aware of the new obligations;
Putting effective grievance and whistle blowing
mechanisms in place to cover any concerns about slavery
or human trafficking within any business or supply chain.
The Government also released guidance on these new
provisions, which focuses on five key areas:
describing business model and supply chain relationships;
policies on slavery including due diligence and auditing;
training;
risk evaluation and management, and;
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performance indicators to assess effectiveness.
The Guidance provides practical tips on what businesses
should include in the statement, how to structure the
statement, and what needs to be done once the statement
has been produced. The guidance also sets out what is
expected of companies when they identify an incidence
of modern slavery 2.
2 Transparency in Supply Chains etc. A practical guide, Guidance issued
under section 54(9) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015
The Act as been successful so far; a recent review showed
that in its first year 289 modern slavery offences were
prosecuted in 2016 and that there was a 40 per cent
rise in the number of victims identified. To give it further
strength, in July 2016 the Prime Minister set up the first ever
Government task force on modern slavery, with the goal of
working to enforcing the Act and announced the creation of
a 33 million International Modern Slavery Fund, which will
focus on high-risk countries from which we know victims are
regularly trafficked to the UK.
2.3 Updated National Action Plan 2016
The 2013 the UK Government was the first to issue a National
Action Plan to implement the UNGPs, which was updated in
2016.
The updated plan reaffirms the Governments commitment
to implementing the UNGPs, setting out the role
Government can play in helping businesses fulfil their
responsibilities to respect human rights, for example through
the introduction of Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006,
requiring directors to consider the impact on the community
of the companys operations, and its 2013 revision, requiring
them to take into account human rights issues when making
their annual strategic reports.
The Plan also provides a clear set of key principles for businesses:
comply with all applicable laws and respect internationally
recognised human rights, wherever they operate;
seek ways to honour the principles of internationally
recognised human rights when faced with conflicting
requirements;
treat as a legal compliance issue the risk of causing or
contributing to gross human rights abuses wherever they
operate;

adopt appropriate due diligence policies to identify,
prevent and mitigate human rights risks, and commit to
monitoring and evaluating implementation;
consult people who may potentially be affected at all
stages of project design and implementation, in a manner
that ensures free and informed participation and takes into
account language and other potential barriers to effective
engagement, paying particular attention to indigenous
peoples and other groups, including women and girls;
emphasise the importance of behaviour in line with the
UNGPs to their supply chains in the UK and overseas.
Appropriate measures could include contractual
arrangements, training, monitoring and capacity-building;
adopt or participate in effective grievance mechanisms
which are transparent, equitable and predictable, to
enable the remediation of any adverse human rights
impacts they cause or to which they contribute;
be transparent about policies, activities and impacts, and
report on human rights issues and risks as appropriate as
part of their annual reports.
These provisions will be especially relevant for General
Counsel operating within large businesses.
2.4 The Houghton case
The courts have also played their part in recognising the
authority of the UNGPs. In June 2016, the High Court
issued a landmark civil litigation ruling against a company in
relation to modern slavery issues. In 2015, a group of six men
brought legal action against DJ Houghton Chicken Catching
Services, based in the South East of England.
These men alleged that in 2012 they were trafficked from
Lithuania to the UK where they had to work on farms as
chicken catchers in inhumane and degrading conditions.
An investigation showed that the men were working in
supply chains producing free range eggs for McDonalds,
Tesco, Asda and M&S.
The men were taken into the care of the national referral
mechanism for victims of human trafficking, but no criminal
charges were brought. A civil claim was filed and was heard in
the High Court earlier this year. Mr Justice Supperstone ruled
that the men were owed compensation for the companys
failure to pay statutory minimum wages, charging prohibited
job-finders fees, failure to provide adequate facilities to wash,
rest, eat and drink and for unlawfully deducting workers pay.
Business and human rights: A practical guide
This case is a significant landmark as it is the first time a
court has awarded damages against a British company
in relation to modern slavery issues. It also sends a strong
message to businesses that the courts can and will enforce
these new rules.
2.5 Other measures related to business
and human rights
Besides the updated National Action plan and the Modern
Slavery Act, the Government is able to enforce the UNGPs
through international instruments and domestic legislation
or policy.
The UK has ratified a series of international treaties and
agreements the International Labour Organisations eight
core conventions, the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights and the European Convention on Human
Rights - which enshrine human rights and fundamental
freedoms and have been given effect through the law.
Currently the Human Rights Act 1998 ensures that
individuals in the UK have a remedy for the breach of
rights which are protected by the European Convention on
Human Rights. It applies to all public authorities and other
bodies performing public functions, as private companies
sometimes do.
The relevant legal framework in the UK also includes
employment regulations that require companies not to
discriminate against employees on grounds of sex, race,
sexual orientation and religious belief, and environmental
regulations.
The UK has enacted or reviewed legislation and policy to
comply with good corporate behaviour and respect for
human rights. These include:
The Bribery Act 2010 where, in line with OECD
commitments, UK companies are liable in the UK for acts
of bribery committed anywhere in the world;
Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006, as mentioned
above, which makes it clear that company directors
have a duty to act in a way which they consider would
be most likely to promote the success of the company
which include the interests of the companys employees
and the impact on the community of the companys
operations. The Act was revised in October 2013 to ensure
that directors of quoted companies consider human rights
issues when making their annual strategic reports.
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 Business and human rights: A practical guide
These measures create a robust framework on business and
human rights, however, legislation could be strengthened
in other areas. Public bodies, for example, are only required
to have due regard for equality-related issues in their
procurement activity. Bids for a contract may be excluded
if evidence of grave misconduct by a company is found.
3. Human rights due diligence
A starting point for many businesses may be to develop
a human rights policy promulgating its commitment to
respect human rights and the steps to follow through this
commitment. Such a policy should be publicly available
and shared with employees. It could set out a procedure
for carrying out human rights due diligence on business
operations. This includes the identification of potential
adverse human rights impacts. Such impacts may arise
through causation, contribution, or direct linkage.
Causation
A business can cause an adverse human rights impact
when its actions lead directly to that impact, whether
intentionally or unintentionally.
Contribution
A business can contribute to an adverse human
rights impact by incentivising, facilitating or enabling
(intentionally or unintentionally) a third party such as
a supplier, a contractor, or a client to commit a human
rights violation.
Direct linkage
Even if a business does not cause or contribute to an
adverse human rights impact, it may nevertheless be
directly linked to such impact through its operations or
the services, or products it provides to its customers.
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Although this might include breaches of human rights, this
seems to fall short of the Governments responsibility to
assess and address any negative human rights impacts
in its supply chain. It remains unclear if the steps the
Government is taking to allow for human rights to be
reflected in public procurement.
The goal of human rights due diligence is to evaluate the
specific human rights footprint of the business in addition
to its standard business due diligence (including any due
diligence carried out on third parties, such as suppliers).
The due diligence should be an assessment of current and
potential adverse human rights impacts. It also enables a
business to identify operational risks. When such impacts
and risks have been identified, this enables a business to take
appropriate steps to prevent a risk from materialising and
make appropriate arrangements when an incident occurs.
For example, a business can make adjustments across
departments to different operational processes.
Human rights due diligence should be proportionate to the
size and complexity of the business and, in particular, to the
level of risk of adverse human rights impact. The UNGPs
implementation guide recognises that it is not feasible for
all businesses to perform a human rights due diligence
on every business relationship in order to assess whether
their involvement may give rise to a negative human rights
impact. However, it is advisable that businesses pay special
attention to individuals or groups that may be particularly
vulnerable or marginalised and would be at a heightened
risk of being adversely impacted by the business operations.
This could, for example, include an assessment of the
different impact of such operations on women and children.
The UNGPs propose a pragmatic approach by which
businesses should prioritise the most severe potential human
rights impacts, i.e. the most severe in scope or scale, or where
a delay may cause irreversible harm.
The procedure for the human rights due diligence should
be updated regularly and the due diligence itself should be
carried out at appropriate intervals, taking into account that
a business operations may change over time.

4. How do business and human rights
principles relate to professional duties
of solicitors?
The UNGPs and the business and human rights field
more generally reinforce the mandatory provisions of
many professional codes, including the SRAs Code of
Conduct which applies to Law Society members. Solicitors
professional duties such as upholding the rule of law and the
proper administration of justice, acting with integrity, acting
independently and in the best interests of their clients and
maintaining public trust relate to business and human rights.
These professional duties apply to all solicitors, both in private
practice and in-house, and set out their obligations to their
clients and wider to society3. While there is no specific legal or
professional obligation to advise clients with regard to their
responsibility to respect human rights, by increasing their
competence and knowledge in this area, solicitors (and firms)
can seek to act in a manner which furthers both obligations.
For many clients it is also consistent with their holistic view of
legal risk management which they may expect their solicitors
to understand and be aware of.
However, it is important to note that [t]he UNGPs were
not intended to override or supplement legal professional
codes of conduct, given the critical role that lawyers play in
upholding the rule of law and supporting the administration
of justice. Nor were they intended to create extrinsic
expectations for a lawyers conduct, which are grounded in
the scope of services for which the lawyer has retained the
client, the relevant laws, and professional standards that
govern a lawyers conduct 4.
Professional duties allow solicitors to provide independent
advice to clients and consider non-legal contextual factors,
such as human rights impacts of the clients activities
(however certain human rights impacts may also carry legal
consequences if caught by specific regulations concerned
with human rights, e.g. the Modern Slavery Act).
Business and human rights: A practical guide
It is possible that, unless specifically instructed as part
of their retainer, solicitors would not consider themselves
instructed, empowered or competent in the context of the
particular client relationship to advise on non-legal risks.
It is, however, well established that where in the course of
taking instructions a solicitor learns of facts which reveal the
existence of obvious risks, the solicitor is required to do more
than merely advise within the strict limits of the retainer.
There is a duty to call attention to and advise on those risks.
In doing so, the solicitor will not be going beyond the scope
of his or her instructions but merely reporting back to the
client on issues of concern which he or she has learned of in
the course of carrying out express instructions 5.
An issue that is currently being debated in many European
Bar Associations is the extent to which, if at all, the UNGPs
might extend that duty to a duty to advise on appropriate
action to mitigate or remediate the risk of adverse human
rights impacts which are non-legal in the sense that they
do not evidence a specific breach of an established and
binding legal rule in the context in which the clients activities
are taking place. It is a developing area which will be revisited
in future guidance or practice notes.
It is important to note that the UNPGs are just a starting
point and do not impact upon a clients entitlement and
rights to access independent representation, assert a robust
legal defence to claims that it has engaged in conduct that
violates human rights, to seek judicial determinations of
human rights issues and to seek and access legal advice and
counsel about these issues.
3 Guidance to the former SRA Code of Conduct 2007 states that:
Lawyers, law firms and those who work in them serve both clients and
society. In serving society, you uphold the rule of law and the proper
administration of justice. In serving clients, you work in partnership with
the client making the clients business your first concern. The core duties
contained in rule 1 set the standards which will meet the needs of both
clients and society.
4 Ibid
5 Credit Lyonnais SA v Russell Jones & Walker (a firm) [2002] EWHC
1310 (Ch)
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 Business and human rights: A practical guide
Appendix A: The UNGPs
The international human rights of individuals are established
in a variety of international and regional declarations and
treaties. The instruments that most states have approved
and ratified are the United Nations Declaration on Human
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights.
By ratifying these treaties, States commit to respect,
guarantee, and protect the rights established therein to the
individuals under their jurisdiction. Therefore, the subjects
to whom this normative framework applies are States and
individuals (and sometimes groups of individuals). Under
certain circumstances, States can be held responsible
for human rights violations committed by third actors,
such as companies. However, companies themselves can
generally not be held directly accountable for human rights
infringements under international law. This means that there
is a lack of protection for individuals.
A company can be held accountable for human rights
violations under domestic law, depending on the national
legislation. However, legislation that incorporates human
rights may be lacking or deficient. Moreover, as a result of
the globalisation of financial and legal markets, companies
often operate transnationally so that its corporate entities
may be subject to different legal jurisdictions, making
accountability for human rights violations more difficult.
In order to address this lack of protection, international
standards have been elaborated that seek to guide
businesses on how to conduct their activities in accordance
with human rights norms and how to identify and address
potential human rights violations. Such principles do not
create legal obligations, but represent an emerging standard
of responsible business conduct. Businesses are encouraged
to assess the potential and actual human rights impact of
their activities, on their employees and others, and adjust
their actions to prevent any adverse impact. Where such
impact does occur, businesses are expected to provide some
form of judicial or non-judicial reparation.
Although many documents have been elaborated (see a
list of resources at the end of this note), perhaps the most
important are the United Nations Guiding Principles on
Business and Human Rights. The former United Nations
Secretary General Kofi Annan appointed Professor
John Ruggie as his Special Representative on human
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rights, transnational corporations and other business
enterprises. The latter elaborated the UNGP and a guide for
implementation, which were adopted by the United Nations
Human Rights Council in its Resolution 17/4 of 16 June 2011.
The UNGPs establish a framework of three inter-related
pillars:
(i) The State duty to protect against human rights
abuses by third parties, including business enterprises,
through appropriate policies, regulation, and
adjudication;
(ii) The corporate responsibility to respect human rights;
and
(iii) The need for greater access by victims of human
rights abuses to effective remedy, both judicial and
non-judicial.
This Guidance focuses on the second pillar, since the first
pillar addresses State obligations and the third pillar regards
victims reparations.
The second pillar applies to all business enterprises, both
transnational and others, regardless of their size, sector,
location, ownership and structure. It establishes the main
principle that businesses should avoid infringing on the
human rights of others and should address adverse human
rights impacts with which they are involved. In order to
address any adverse human impacts businesses should take
adequate measures of prevention, mitigation and, where
appropriate remediation.
The human rights that should be respected by businesses
are those rights enshrined in international treaties and
declarations, including for example the rights set out in
the International Labour Organisations Declaration on
Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
The potential adverse impact on human rights differs
depending on the nature of a business operations. For
example, the right to life of employees and members of
the local community may be at risk in industries that are
engaged in activities such as mining. However, for a business
that operates in retail, a potential adverse impact could
regard the prohibition on slavery and servitude, rather than
the right to life.

As implementation of the UNGPs framework and other
practical expertise in the area of business and human rights
grows, tensions with solicitors existing duties may also arise.
For example, how should a solicitor or firm respond when it
discovers through its own due diligence that a client retainer
may produce an adverse human rights impact which the
client does not wish to address? In this situation, Principles
4 and 5 (the duty to act in the clients best interest, and to
provide a proper standard of service, respectively) may conflict
Appendix B: Further Resources
Further information on business and human rights can be
found in the following documents/websites:
The Law Society Practice Note on the Modern Slavery Act
http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/advice/
practice-notes/modern-slavery-act-and-section-54/
published on 6 December 2016
United Nations: Guiding Principles on Business and Human
Rights. http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/
GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf
United Nations: Global Compact A Structured Process to
Prioritize Supply Chain Human Rights Risks. https://www.
unglobalcompact.org/library/2851
United Nations: The Corporate Responsibility to Respect
Human Rights An Interpretative Guide. http://www.ohchr.
org/Documents/Issues/Business/RtRInterpretativeGuide.pdf
United Nations: Working Group on the issue of human
rights and transnational corporations and other business
enterprises. http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Business/Pages/
WGHRandtransnationalcorporationsandotherbusiness.aspx
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD): OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
http://www.oecd.org/daf/inv/mne/48004323.pdf
UK National Contact Point, make a complaint about a
multinational enterprise. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-
national-contact-point-for-the-organisation-for-economic-
co-operation-and-development-oecd-guidelines-for-
multinational-enterprises
Updated National Action Plan, May 2016. https://www.gov.
uk/government/publications/bhr-action-plan
Business and human rights: A practical guide
not only with the soft-law expectation that adverse human
rights impacts should be avoided or mitigated, but also pose
an actual conflict with Principle 1. Is the solicitor required to
resume with the instruction unconditionally on the terms
requested by the client or perhaps consider withdrawing from
the instruction altogether? There are no clear and easy answers
to these questions. Guidance could be sought from the SRA
about navigating the solicitors duties in a specific situation.
European Commission: Non-financial reporting. http://
ec.europa.eu/finance/company-reporting/non-financial_
reporting/index_en.htmISO 26000 Social responsibility,
http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/iso26000.htm
IBA Guidance, May 2016. http://www.ibanet.org/Legal_
Projects_Team/Business_and_Human_Rights_for_the_
Legal_Profession.aspx
Transparency in supply chains etc, A practical Guide, 20
October 2015
Modern Slavery Act 2015. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/
ukpga/2015/30/contents/enacted
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 (Transparency in Supply
Chains) Regulations 2015. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/
ukdsi/2015/9780111138847
Transparency in Supply Chains Consultation Document
(Feb 2015) and Government Response (July 2015).
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/modern-
slavery-and-supply-chains
ILO Resources on Forced Labour, Human Trafficking and
Slavery. http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/lang-
-en/index.htm
Business and Human Rights Resource Centre.
http://business-humanrights.org/
Robert Bourns, president of the Law Society, keynote
speech on the International Bar Association launch of
the Business and Human Rights Reference Annex.
http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/news/speeches/international-
bar-association-launch-of-the-business-and-human-rights-
reference-annex/
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