Abstract
The article identifies various areas of violations of human rights and freedoms by industrial companies, which require an adequate response from the legislator. The experience of French and German law in protecting human rights and freedoms from the adverse impact of economic activity may be useful. This also applies to the liability of a parent company for the actions of its subsidiaries, given the existence of control over the activities of the latter, and the adoption of decisions that indicate the level of influence they exert.
Despite the fact that economic freedoms are currently prioritized over social interests, social responsibility of business is becoming increasingly important. The article focuses on the issues of determining the type, amount of liability and assessment of violations identified in the course of analyzing the case law in disputes on social responsibility of business in the presence of a negative impact on human rights and freedoms.
The author analyzes the tort liability of legal entities for human rights violations, noting that it is characterized by pecuniary compensation. In the absence of actual damages, the tort liability of companies loses its meaning. The case law of the European Court of Human Rights and Ukrainian court practice does not provide for compensation for the mere fact of interference or the mere existence of a negative impact on human rights and freedoms by a business entity. This makes it necessary to find other approaches to respond to the negative consequences of companies’ activities. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that damage to human rights and freedoms is difficult to measure and evaluate: determining the equivalent value of a violation of the right to privacy, personal information, loss of comfort, etc.
On the contrary, the practice of English courts is to award compensation to the claimants whose rights and freedoms have been violated, which distinguishes them from the tort liability of companies.
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