XClose

UCL Faculty of Laws

Home
Menu

Corporate Social Responsibility - An International Perspective (LAWS0162)

This course provides students with perspectives into “corporate social responsibility” both as a governing mechanism for businesses as well as a form of business practice

This course provides students with perspectives into “corporate social responsibility” both as a governing mechanism for businesses as well as a form of business practice. The course will look into the theoretical paradigms surrounding the corporate objective and corporate accountability, the international movements in corporate social responsibility led by organisations such as the OECD and the UN, as well as the legal frameworks in human rights protection, corporate risk management and labour relations. The course will devote a significant proportion of time to the role of corporations in human rights and furthering social welfare. It will not delve deeply into specialist environmental, health or labour regulation but will discuss key critical perspectives where relevant. This course will challenge students into viewing the role and responsibility of the corporation from perspectives beyond the traditional paradigm of shareholder primacy, and is well placed to complement traditional corporate law and regulation courses, as well as courses dealing with normative issues of jurisprudential and governance thinking.

Module syllabus

This module is subject to change.

  • Explore the meaning of corporate social responsibility and its relationship to law, governance, regulation and ethics
  • Critically appraise the theoretical foundations of corporate social responsibility, including the stakeholder theory and theories of public goods, and socio-political perspectives
  • Examine legal frameworks dealing with human rights protection, accountability in reporting, regulation dealing with risk management, and labour issues
  • Critically examine corporate social responsibility as a business practice and its effects upon corporate governance, performance and socially responsible investing
  • Provide students with a critical understanding of issues of current legal and economic significance within the corporate world

Recommended materials

All materials will be provided on Moodle. Module reading lists and other module materials will be provided via online module pages, once students have made their module selections upon enrolment.

Key information

Module details
Credit value:30 credits (15 ECTS, 300 learning hours)
Convenor:Barnali Choudhury
Other Teachers:None
Teaching Delivery:20 x 2-hour weekly seminars, 10 seminars per term, Term One and Two
Who may enrol:LLM students only
Prerequisites:None
Must not be taken with:None
Qualifying module for:LLM in Corporate Law;
LLM in Human Rights Law;
LLM in International Banking and Finance Law
LLM in International Commercial Law;
Assessment
Practice Assessment:Opportunity for feedback on one optional practice essay
Final Assessment:Oral presentation (30%); essay (70%)