Legislature

Statutory law

Duty of care

Social psychology

Duty

Common law

Diligence

Parent company

Business

Due diligence

Subsidiary

Psychology

Political science

Multinational corporation

Obligation

Business and Human Rights Journal

In 2017, France established a due diligence statutory obligation for French parent companies to monitor extraterritorial human rights and environmental abuses committed by their off-shore affiliates. Switzerland is also considering adopting a similar law for Swiss parent companies. These obligations are comparable to the duty of care that, according to recent case law, British parent companies owe towards their subsidiaries’ neighbours. This article compares and contrasts the newly introduced French due diligence statutory obligation, the UK precedents, and two alternative Swiss legislative proposals on the due diligence and duty of care of parent companies.

The Duty of Care of the Parent Company: A Comparison between French Law, UK Precedents and the Swiss Proposals