The Human Rights and Business Clinic which was created in 2022 has now been merged into the broader CHREN Human Rights Clinic, an initiative of the Chair for Public Law, Public International Law and Human Rights (Professor Patricia Wiater) and the Center for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg (CHREN) at FAU.
Although the Human Rights and Business Clinic no longer exists as a separate entity, its practice-led research focus — especially on issues at the intersection of human rights and business — continues within the Human Rights Clinic’s project portfolio. The CHREN Human Rights Clinic offers students the opportunity to engage in real-world human rights projects, working under academic supervision and in collaboration with external partners such as NGOs, legal practitioners and international institutions. Its projects span diverse themes including business and human rights, climate justice, migration, digital rights and more, and serve as a platform for applied research, skill development and exchange between academia and practice.
For information on current and upcoming projects, student participation, and how the Clinic supports practice-led research relevant to doctoral candidates, please visit the CHREN Human Rights Clinic page.
Project 1: „THE GERMAN SUPPLY CHAIN ACT (LKSG) AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACTS OF THE STEEL INDUSTRY“
in partnership with the Environment Defender Law Center (EDLC). April 2023 – August 2023
Summary of the project
This report presents the main findings of a comprehensive study on the main human rights impacts of the steel industry and the avenues the German Supply Chain Act (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (LkSG) or the Act) offers to address these impacts.
Authors
FAU M.A Human Rights students: Mariana Malaquias Guimarães, Đorđe Popović, Köksal Avincan, Alice Kisumba, Sopiko Shaburishvili
Coordinators: Doctoral Candidate Bruna Singh and Doctoral Candidate Stephanie Regalia
Publications:
- Report:“THE GERMAN SUPPLY CHAIN ACT (LKSG) AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACTS OF THE STEEL INDUSTRY”
- LkSG Guide
Project 2: “Just Transition Litigation Tracker” with the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre
Coordinators: Bruna Singh, Stephanie Regalia
Concluded Report: Unjust transition on trial: Communities and workers litigate to shape corporate practice
The report, Unjust transition on trial, and the related Just Transition Litigation Tracking Tool are the result of a research partnership between the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre and the FAU Human Rights and Business Clinic.
The BHRRC briefing examines the rising trend of lawsuits against renewable energy and transition mineral mining firms for systemic human rights abuses.
The project involved seven master’s students from the FAU’s M.A. in Human Rights and M.A. in Development Economics and International Studies programs. They played a crucial role in the project, supporting the research and writing of the report.
Over the winter semester of 2023/24, the student team, supervised by Clinic coordinators Bruna Singh and Stephanie Regalia, had the opportunity to take a first look at an earlier version of the Just Transition Litigation database developed by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. The students researched additional cases and produced a first interim report to explore the type of data, information, and lessons that could be drawn from an initial set of 54 cases. This interim report can be downloaded here.