国际人权公约的域外适用——以国家规制跨国公司的域外人权义务为视角

Extraterritorial Application of International Human Rights Conventions--From the Perspective of States Regulating the Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations of Multinational Companies

国际人权公约的域外适用是国家规制跨国公司域外人权义务的法律基础,并在近年来日益受到联合国治理跨国公司人权责任新趋势的挑战。对于现有国际规则和实践的考察表明,国际人权公约的域外适用取决于缔约国的域外管辖范围,它主要包括对于域外领土和个人的实际控制以及在域外实施权威行为的情况。据此,如果跨国公司侵犯人权的行为发生于母国在域外实际控制的区域内和个人身上,或者得到母国的授权和控制,则由其母国承担相应的人权责任。鉴于上述国际人权公约域外适用范围具有限制性,国际合作义务、不损害原则在未来或可成为国家履行域外人权义务新的法律依据,由此扩展国际人权公约域外适用的基础,以应对更加严峻的跨国公司侵犯人权的问题。但是就总体而言,目前对于国家规制跨国公司域外人权义务的认定和编纂,应尊重国际人权法的现有规则,不应为国家增设新的人权义务。

The extraterritorial application of international human rights conventions is the legal basis for states to regulate the extraterritorial human rights obligations of multinational companies.In recent years,it has been increasingly challenged by the new trend of the United Nations governing the human rights responsibilities of multinational companies.A study of existing international rules and practices shows that the extraterritorial application of international human rights conventions depends on the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the contracting states,which mainly includes the actual control over extraterritorial territories and individuals as well as the execution of authority outside the territories.In view of the above,if a multinational company’s human rights violations occur in areas and individuals controlled by the home country outside its territories or are authorized and controlled by the home country,the home country shall bear the corresponding human rights responsibilities.Given the restrictive scope of the above-mentioned extraterritorial application of international human rights conventions,the international cooperation obligation and the"do no harm"principle may become a new legal basis for states to fulfill their extraterritorial human rights obligations in the future,thereby expanding the basis for the extraterritorial application of international human rights conventions to deal with more serious issues of human rights violations by multinational companies.However,on the whole,the current identification and codification of states regulating the extraterritorial human rights obligations of multinational companies should respect the existing rules of international human rights law and should not add any new human rights obligations for the states.