Narrowing the Accountability Gap: Toward a New Foreign Investor Accountability Mechanism

An ever-increasing number of standards, guidelines, principles, norms, and best practices have been adopted to address the environmental and social impacts of multinational enterprises (MNEs). This article proposes a new Foreign Investor Accountability Mechanism (the Mechanism). The Mechanism will e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inGeorgetown international environmental law review Vol. 20; no. 2; p. 187
Main Authors Bridgeman, Natalie L, Hunter, David B
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington Georgetown University Law Center 01.01.2008
Subjects
Accountability
Civil society
Community
Compliance
Developing countries
Enforcement
Environmental policy
Financial institutions
Foreign investment
Host country
International finance
International law
Jurisdiction
LDCs
Multinational corporations
Norms
Social impact
United States > US
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Summary:An ever-increasing number of standards, guidelines, principles, norms, and best practices have been adopted to address the environmental and social impacts of multinational enterprises (MNEs). This article proposes a new Foreign Investor Accountability Mechanism (the Mechanism). The Mechanism will enhance the environmental and social sustainability of foreign direct investment by holding MNEs accountable to project-affected communities. This article highlights an existing gap in the protections that international and national law provide to local communities harmed by the environmental and social impacts of development and investment projects. It proposes a new type of accountability mechanism that will hold MNEs accountable to the various normative commitments they have made during project preparation, design, and approval to prevent or minimize environmental and social harms on communities affected by their operations. The Mechanism would harden the existing set of standards and norms and empower affected communities in their dialogues with MNEs.
ISSN:2380-1905