Book launch - ‘Tort Litigation against Transnational Corporations’ by Dr Ekaterina Aristova

The Bonavero Institute of Human Rights and the Oxford Business and Human Rights Network were delighted to host the launch of ‘Tort Litigation against Transnational Corporations: The Challenge of Jurisdiction in the English Courts’ (OUP 2024) by Dr Ekaterina Aristova. This event was convened with the support of and in collaboration with the Conflict of Laws Discussion Group and the Obligations Discussion Group, and the Oxford Business and Human Rights Network and Discussion Group.
There is an emerging trend of private claims being brought against parent companies of transnational corporations for their alleged involvement in human rights and environmental abuses committed abroad. These cases form part of an international effort aimed at strengthening responsible business conduct, the success of which depends on the rules governing domestic courts’ power to adjudicate disputes. However, in an increasingly globalised environment, the territorial focus of the adjudicative jurisdiction is often contrary to the transnational nature of the business activities. Tort Litigation against Transnational Corporations offers a new angle to the business and human rights discourse by placing the discussion of parent company liability cases in the context of the topical debate about the changing role of private international law in a globalised world.
Author: Dr Ekaterina Aristova
Katya Ekaterina is an academic and a lawyer specialising in the field of business and human rights. Her work focuses on strategic human rights and environmental litigation. She examines how conventional private law doctrines evolve in response to global challenges and are used creatively in different jurisdictions to foster human rights and environmental accountability. Ekaterina is a co-editor of ‘Civil Remedies and Human Rights in Flux’ (Hart Publishing 2022) and ‘Civil Liability for Human Rights Violations: A Handbook for Practitioners’ (Bonavero Institute of Human Rights 2022). Since 2019, Ekaterina has been a Research Fellow at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights (Faculty of Law, University of Oxford), where she convenes a course ‘Business and Human Rights - Real World Accountability’ and supervises postgraduate students. In 2022, she was awarded a prestigious Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship to complete a project on climate change litigation against corporations.
Chaired by Professor Kate O'Regan.