Globally active companies ensure that human rights and socio-economic rights are spread worldwide. They create jobs and generate income for the population and the respective state. In this way, they make an important contribution to the development of countries in which they operate and quality of life. While states can use the additional financial resources to invest in infrastructure or other essential services and people benefit from jobs and a stronger purchasing power; some companies also exploit the system—mostly in resource-rich countries. Again and again, when human rights violations occur, be it catastrophic accidents on factory sites, child labor, oil spills or other environmental destruction, the question of accountability quickly arises. Just as quickly, it becomes clear that companies are generally not bound by human rights or socio-economic rights, so it is difficult to hold them accountable, even if corporations are subjectively responsible. In his chapter "Corporate human rights obligations under social-economic rights," Jernej Letnar Černič deals with the question of who is responsible and to what extent. He correctly recognizes that often only states have an obligation towards the observance of human and socio-economic rights. This obligation usually exists only on a vertical level between the state and individuals. However, there are already several ways in which international corporations, not unlike states, can be held responsible for human rights violations. Černič notes and provides information about the existing possibilities. Moreover, he concludes that corporations are often not legally bound by human rights or socio-economic rights. Often, states set requirements for human rights standards at the national level, which companies are supposed to meet. Companies can, and should, be held responsible for violations across national borders. However, these regulations are often incomplete and not enforced consistently enough, resulting in inadequate regulation and guarantee of human and socio-economic rights. In this chapter, Černič also comes to the conclusion that sufficient transparency in companies' global supply chains is important for the observance and enforcement of human rights and socio-economic rights. This should prompt international corporations to take responsibility for the human rights violations they provoke, even if they are based in another country. In this context, we should also ask ourselves if states have the obligation to ensure that companies do not have the opportunity to outsource human rights violations to less-stable countries. States are already independently committed to respecting and enforcing human rights and socio-economic rights. So, shouldn't it be part of this commitment to ensure that companies also comply with certain requirements on a global scale?
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