Calls for change are ubiquitous in the field of Business and Human Rights: increased accountability of corporations or more consequential enforcement or clearer regulations of human rights with respect to corporations have been on the agenda of human rights scholars and activists for decades. In contrast, very little attention has been paid to the way in which law regulating corporate behaviour internationally has actually been changing. International human rights law narratives highlight the increasing density of regulation, and portray hope for a potential accumulation of this regulation in a treaty on Business and Human Rights. Is this story of progress an accurate one? Who are the crucial actors pushing or blocking the legal change? How have the sites of or fora for legal change shifted over time? Those questions drove a lively discussion on paths of legal change in the field of business and human rights.

The panel put perspectives from theory and practice, from different continents, and from old and new technologies into conversation. Lara Jesani provided insights from practice in India. She shared her thoughts on how legal change materializes for and is perceived by human rights practitioners trying to keep corporations in check. Robert McCorquodale presented his perspective on how legal change takes place, drawing on his experience in academia and in UK based litigation practice. Kebene Wodajo looked particularly at the way in which technological change affects legal change in the realm of Business and Human Rights. She shared her insights from her research on human rights obligations of tech-companies, in particular digital platforms. In this way, the speakers explored the avenues on which legal change in the field of Business and Human Rights has actually travelled in the last few decades.

The event was part of the PATHS ERC-project led by Professor Nico Krisch.  The panel was modered by Dorothea Endres, PhD Candidate in International Law and Researcher at the Global Governance Centre.