Business and human rights governance and democratic legitimacy: the UN "Protect, Respect and Remedy" Framework

Global Corporate Social Responsibility schemes have assumed an authoritative role in today’s diversifying global business and human rights governance regime, yet scholarship has paid scant attention to their democratic credentials. This article analyses the democratic legitimacy of the UN ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework and the corresponding UN Guiding Principles, as developed by the UN Special Representative for Business and Human Rights, Prof. Ruggie. Applying De Búrca’s democracy striving approach, the article provides insights into how the design and actual performance of the six year mandate of Prof. Ruggie meet the democratic ideal of equality, participation and accountability. The findings hold that to guarantee the continuant striving for the fullest and equal participation of all stakeholders, further steps are warranted to ensure that individuals from the Global South can equally and meaningfully partake in the implementation process of the Guiding Principles and contest their authority if deeming to fail to meet the normative expectations of the people.status: publishe