“Business Without Boundaries: Legal Challenges in Regulating MNCs for Human Rights Compliance”

The rapid expansion of multinational corporations (MNCs) has transformed the global economic landscape, creating
new opportunities for growth while simultaneously raising serious concerns regarding human rights protection. This
paper examines the legal challenges involved in regulating MNCs, particularly in ensuring compliance with human rights
standards across different jurisdictions. It highlights the fundamental mismatch between the global operations of
corporations and the territorially limited nature of legal systems, which results in significant accountability gaps.
The study analyses existing international frameworks, including the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and
Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines, which promote responsible corporate conduct but remain largely non-binding.
It also evaluates comparative legal approaches adopted in jurisdictions such as the United States, France, the United
Kingdom, and the European Union, alongside India’s legal and judicial framework. The paper identifies key challenges
such as jurisdictional limitations, the doctrine of separate legal personality, weak enforcement mechanisms, and
regulatory arbitrage, all of which hinder effective corporate accountability.
The research argues that the current reliance on voluntary compliance and soft law instruments is inadequate to address
the complexities of transnational corporate activities. It emphasizes the need for binding legal frameworks, mandatory
human rights due diligence, and stronger enforcement mechanisms at both international and domestic levels. The paper
concludes that a coordinated and rights-based approach is essential to ensure that multinational corporations operate
responsibly and do not undermine fundamental human rights in the pursuit of economic objective