How the modern slavery is addressed and regulated today - A legal and CSR perspective

Sammanfattning: Modern slavery is connected to the global trade and company supply chains. This essay aims to examine how this is regulated and addressed today, from a legal and corporate social responsibility (CSR) perspective, and analyse the extent to which such obstacles can be overcome. To reach the aim of this study, a traditional legal dogmatic method, together with an empirical method in the form of a case study, has been used. The findings of this study were that there are several international laws and/or standards that concern the regulation of slavery, forced labour and human rights, which only bind states that have ratified them. In general, companies are not bound by international laws and subsequently, only self-regulate to how they would handle CSR. There are certain national laws that cover global companies and impose obligations to be more transparent and disclose information on the manner in addressing modern slavery in their supply chains. However, these international and national regulations lack the necessary sanctions and enforcement mechanisms. Companies’ CSR efforts are also insufficient in this regard. As such, it is difficult to address and tackle modern slavery and further research is thus necessary.