Mapping mandatory HREDD legislative progress in Europe: map and comparative analysis (December 2020)

ECCJ has updated both its map and its comparative legal analysis of the different mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) laws and proposals in Europe.

The map provides an overview of the different mandatory HREDD processes in Europe, classified in four categories (adopted law, government/parliament process, civil society action) depending on the state of progress.

The comparative table provides an overview of the specific provisions in the laws adopted or being discussed at the national level, as well as in the concrete legislative proposals put forward in different European countries. The table analyses the status, nature and scope of each law and legislative proposal; the standards they aim to protect; the due diligence and transparency obligations they aim to impose; and the civil liability and public enforcement mechanisms foreseen, if any. In particular, the table compares the following legal texts:

• The French Duty of Vigilance Law.
• The Swiss Responsible Business Initiative.
• The Dutch Child Labour Due Diligence Law.
• The Dutch Christen Unie proposal.
• The German Lieferkettengesetz proposal.
• The German Government draft federal law.
• The Norwegian Ethics Information Committee draft act.