BL Nurse: Litigation on business and human rights against companies

Faculty: Business and Law

Supervisors: Prof Angus Nurse; Dr Sebastian Smart

Location: Cambridge

This PhD will explore how domestic legal frameworks address business-related human rights violations, focusing on corporate accountability and access to justice in both the Global North and South.

Despite advances in international frameworks, significant gaps in national legislation and enforcement persist, allowing corporations to evade liability for severe human rights abuses such as forced labour, environmental destruction, and displacement of communities. This research will critically examine these gaps and proposes reforms to ensure corporate accountability.

This project aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of underexplored domestic legal frameworks and their effectiveness in addressing human rights abuses by corporations. It focuses on identifying barriers to justice for affected communities and explores case studies from various regions to propose solutions that address legal, social, and policy challenges.

Key objectives include:

• Identifying gaps in domestic legal frameworks that hinder corporate accountability.
• Examining access-to-justice challenges for affected communities, particularly those impacted by transnational corporations.
• Proposing legal reforms and multi-stakeholder strategies that enhance accountability.
• Evaluating case studies to assess the impact of legal systems on corporate behaviour.
• Contributing to the global discourse on business and human rights litigation by offering actionable solutions.

The project is supported by a strong supervisory team, including experts in business and human rights and environmental criminology. The research will engage with civil society organisations and academic networks to access to real-world cases, data, and expertise. Institutional support includes access to legal databases, research funding, and interdisciplinary seminars at ARU, ensuring robust academic and practical resources.

The research is expected to produce:

• High-quality peer-reviewed publications in leading journals on human rights law and corporate governance.
• Comprehensive policy recommendations for improving corporate accountability and access to justice.
• Practical contributions to legal and advocacy strategies, particularly through case studies in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Increased interdisciplinary understanding of corporate responsibility and its implications for human rights and environmental governance.

This project bridges academic research and real-world application, offering innovative insights into corporate accountability. Its interdisciplinary nature, combined with practical collaborations with civil society organisations, ensures both theoretical contributions and tangible impact. By focusing on domestic legal systems, the research provides actionable reforms that enhance justice for victims of corporate abuses while influencing broader legal and policy frameworks globally.

If you would like to discuss this research project, please contact Prof Angus Nurse: [email protected]

Funding notes

The successful applicant for this project will receive a Vice Chancellor’s PhD Scholarship which covers the tuition fees and provides a UKRI equivalent minimum annual stipend for three years. For 2024/5 this was £19,237 per year. The award is subject to the successful candidate meeting the scholarship terms and conditions. Please note that the University asserts the right to claim any intellectual property generated by research it funds.

Download the 2024/5 terms and conditions (2025/6 terms and conditions TBC)