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Développements récents en matière de la protection des droits fondamentaux et de l’environnement dans les chaînes globales de valeur
The main question of this contribution is: to what extent do voluntary standardization, guidelines and other non-binding sustainability instruments require or encourage, within and across global value chains, creation and effective imposition of (quasi) legal standards and rules for the protection of fundamental rights and the environment?
This analysis first discusses the main historical and conceptual elements of the theory of global value chains (I). It continues with the discussion of the global standards of responsibility and sustainability (in particular those of the ISO) (II). Next, the analysis focuses on two most recent legislative developments, namely the Vigilance Law in France (III) and the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation (IV), both imposing corporate legal obligations relating to the societal duty of companies to protect fundamental rights and the environment throughout their production and supply chains. Lastly, it offers concluding remarks (V).