Reform required to end corporate impunity
The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) and Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) have made a joint submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Inquiry into Australia’s corporate criminal responsibility regime. The HRLC supports proposals that would allow corporations to be better held to account for criminal misconduct overseas.
There have been many examples of Australian companies implicated in serious international human rights violations but few are investigated or prosecuted. Australia needs laws that impose mandatory human rights due diligence obligations on large companies and those operating in high-risk sectors.
In order to strengthen accountability for offences committed by Australian corporations extraterritorially the HRLC and ACIJ make the following additional recommendations:
1. The development of legislation imposing mandatory human rights due diligence obligations on large Australian companies and those operating in high-risk sectors or jurisdictions;
2. The establishment of a specialist investigations unit focused on international crimes; and
3. A further inquiry into criminal investigative processes, including in relation to extraterritorial offences.
Australia’s lack of institutional structure relevant to investigating extraterritorial offences in the Criminal Code – particularly where they involve serious violations of human rights – has contributed to the poor investigative and prosecution rate of these offences which further entrenches corporate impunity.