The Alien Tort Claims Act of 1789: Globalization of Business Requires Globalization of Law and Ethics

摘要

[Multinational corporations] should respect the human rights of its employees ... whether or not local companies respect those rights. This injunction will preclude gross exploitation of workers, set minimum standards for pay and prescribe minimum standards for health and safety measures. Global corporations, operating in foreign host countries with dissimilar cultures and laws, political institutions and ideologies, commercial practices and customs and levels of economic development, are confronted with different ethical standards with which they gauge their conduct and ascertain their moral responsibilities. It is tempting in such circumstances to adopt the theory of ethical relativism - under which something can be judged to be morally good if, in one particular society, it complies with the prevailing moral standards, but wrong if it does not — and to declare that the proposed practice or activity is morally acceptable, because is conforms with the moral standards or practices of the particular society. It may be equally tempting to insulate or disassociate the company from questionable conduct of its host country partner, so that repercussions are muted or avoided.