How Is UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights Related to Rule of Law?

The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), endorsed unanimously by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, set out an authoritative global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of human rights abuses linked to business activity. Built upon three interrelated pillars, the UNGPs are not legally binding in themselves, but they have been widely adopted as a benchmark for responsible corporate conduct and have significantly influenced domestic laws, international standards, and corporate governance practices. At their core, the UNGPs are firmly grounded in the foundational concepts of the rule of law, which is the idea that all individuals and entities, including governments and corporations, are subject to and accountable under clear, just, and consistently applied legal frameworks.

Pillar I – The State Duty to Protect Human Rights
The first pillar places the primary responsibility on states to protect individuals from human rights abuses by third parties, including businesses, within their territory or jurisdiction. This responsibility directly reflects the rule of law’s insistence that public authorities must enact, maintain, and enforce laws that are fair, clear, and applied equally to all. States are expected to establish legal frameworks that set clear human rights obligations for businesses and to ensure that violations are investigated and sanctioned effectively. This includes embedding legal accountability, so that corporate misconduct is met with enforceable consequences, and ensuring equality before the law, whereby businesses, regardless of size, sector, or political influence, are held to the same legal standards as other actors. Moreover, the principle of non-discrimination under the rule of law is echoed in the UNGPs’ insistence that human rights protections apply to all individuals without bias based on race, gender, nationality, or any other status. This pillar thus reinforces the idea that state governance over business activities must be anchored in law, fairness, and impartiality.

Pillar II – The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights
While the first pillar focuses on government action, the second pillar makes clear that businesses themselves have an independent responsibility to respect human rights, regardless of whether domestic law is effectively enforced. This duty is closely aligned with the rule of law’s emphasis on compliance with the law and proactive responsibility in avoiding harm. Under the UNGPs, businesses are expected to conduct human rights due diligence, a process that identifies, prevents, mitigates, and accounts for how they address their impacts on human rights. This reflects the accountability principle of the rule of law because organisations must take ownership of their actions and be prepared to justify them. Furthermore, the UNGPs require businesses to provide or cooperate in providing access to remedies when harm occurs, reinforcing the rule of law’s commitment to ensuring that victims have practical avenues to seek justice. By embedding these practices into corporate governance, businesses contribute to a legal and ethical environment where the rule of law is upheld through responsible private-sector conduct.

Pillar III – Access to Remedy for Victims of Business-Related Abuses
The third pillar focuses on ensuring that victims of corporate human rights abuses have effective access to remedies. This is a direct application of the rule of law principle that justice must not only exist in theory but be accessible in practice. Remedies may be judicial, through national courts, or non-judicial, such as mediation, grievance mechanisms, or arbitration. In either case, the mechanisms must be impartial, transparent, and independent, reflecting the rule of law’s commitment to judicial independence and procedural fairness. Transparency in remediation processes further strengthens public trust, ensuring that affected communities understand how decisions are made and that they can hold institutions accountable. By requiring such remedial systems, the UNGPs ensure that the rule of law extends beyond abstract legal rights to concrete, enforceable protections for those harmed by business operations.

Taken together, the UN Guiding Principles and the rule of law share an underlying vision: that both state and corporate power must be exercised within the boundaries of clear, predictable, and just legal frameworks that safeguard human dignity. The UNGPs operationalise the rule of law in the business context by insisting on legal accountability, equality before the law, non-discrimination, compliance, transparency, and access to justice. They provide a coherent framework in which human rights obligations are not merely aspirational but are integrated into the everyday decision-making of governments and businesses alike. In doing so, the UNGPs reinforce the rule of law as a living principle that governs not only public administration but also the global marketplace.