LA LITIGACIÓN INTERNACIONAL EN MATERIA DE DILIGENCIA DEBIDA EMPRESARIAL EN LA UNIÓN EUROPEA: ¿COMO RESPONDE LA DIRECTIVA (UE) 2024/1760 A LOS RETOS QUE IMPLICA UN COMPLEJO CONTEXTO NORMATIVO EN CAMBIO?

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility and due diligence in the area of human rights require a universal normative apparatus that allows for obtaining the appropriate compensation for the damages caused by their violation. Among the existing alternatives for redress, the possibility of making civil claims against the companies involved, through state courts in cross-border cases, currently stands out. However, there is not a legally binding instrument with an international scope, which deals with this problem in a uniform manner. Thus, different initiatives have been developed at the international, regional and comparative levels, which establish different rules of international jurisdiction in this area. The European Union has recently faced this problem with the publication of Directive (EU) 2024/1760 on corporate due diligence in the area of sustainability. However, despite approaching the Private International Law questions raised by these cases, the European legislator has avoided developing a specific jurisdictional response, having to resort to the solutions incorporated in the instruments developed in the area of judicial cooperation in civil matters for their discipline. This position, far from being neutral, generates serious difficulties that the European legislator should have taken into consideration and that it would be advisable to reconsider.