Conceptualizing Transnational Corporate Criminal Liability in GVCs: Integrating Failure to Prevent and Due Diligence

This chapter aims to investigate the role of corporate criminal liability in preventing crimes and violations of human rights and environmental standards associated with global value chains (GVCs). Corporate criminal law is increasingly expected to play a vital role in governing transnational economic activities within the framework of GVCs. To this end, the chapter examines recent domestic and regional (notably European) regulatory trends concerning the introduction of due diligence legislation designed to operate within supply chains. These laws fall within the category of Transnational Due Diligence Laws (TDDLs) and use corporate criminal law as an enforcement mechanism for the due diligence obligations they impose on companies. The chapter focuses on key aspects of TDDLs, such as the application of due diligence, their function as “interface norms,” and their transnational approach. Finally, it explores the “failure to prevent” paradigm as an appropriate model of corporate criminal liability capable of addressing the complexities of GVCs and effectively integrating with due diligence requirements. These elements are developed in the chapter as guidelines for conceptualizing a model of transnational corporate criminal liability that can genuinely contribute to closing the accountability gap—the issue concerning the legal responsibility of corporations that coordinate and operate within supply chains.