Human Trafficking & Forced Labour Laws and Disclosure Obligations of Companies
Every nation has its own set of statutory requirements which obligate registered corporations exceeding the specified pecuniary limits in their respective jurisdictions to install various procedural safeguards and conduct due diligence, in an attempt to minimize the scope of human trafficking and breach of human rights in their supply chains. Some of the statutes are:- Model mandatory due diligence law, Swiss responsible business initiative, French devoir de vigilance law, Dutch bill on child labour due diligence, EU conflict minerals regulation & The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act etc.
The safeguard procedures are usually covered under five broad heads namely,
- Verification
- Audit
- Certification
- Internal accountability
- Training
With variations depending on the respective jurisdictions and corporations have disclosure obligations regarding the due diligence so conducted and performance index of procedural safeguards.
In India, human trafficking in supply chains and forced labour are majorly dealt with by the fragmented statutes like The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act,1956, the Bonded Labour (abolition) Act, 1976 and a draft Anti- Trafficking bill 2021 is currently at the perusal of the Indian Parliament.
But these statutory obligations are not merely put in place for the sake of existence but also carry with them the force of penalties for the defaulting corporations. And thus it becomes extremely important that the documents are drafted carefully in compliance with the laws of the land so that the corporations are thoroughly informed of their obligations, rights and steps that they must take to avoid any breach in regard and frivolous litigations.
We at Leges Juris associates have a pool of lawyers with expertise in matters dealing with disclosure obligations and due diligence obligations of companies and are providing best of class legal services to our clients.