Say what? The regulation of company statements arising from UNGP processes

Domestic regulation of company statements has significance to the increasing obligations on business to publicly report on human rights. The UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and subsequent developments, require public reporting - on human rights in general, or limited to specific areas like slavery or conflict minerals. The resultant reporting and statements present little risk of liability through existing international mechanisms. However there is considerable exposure under domestic regulation of misleading statements (regulation which was not designed with mandatory human rights reporting in mind). This article examines these domestic laws and the balance between mandatory reporting and liability for any such reports.