7.3.6 Conclusion on corporate due diligence processes

This section has demonstrated in which way human rights impact research could fit into current corporate due diligence practice. The logic of including the subject of human rights in standard corporate due diligence processes is that any future problems could have a material adverse effect on the business and reputation of the company. Since a corporate lawyer generally has no training in human rights law, it is recommendable to cooperate with human rights experts, which is in line with the fact that these investigations are often performed by multi-disciplinary teams. Human rights experts in turn can make use of existing HRIA tools (section 7.6). Consequently, from these perspectives, and in view of Ruggie's recommendations - which now represent the 'state of the art', and are therefore relevant in determining best practices in due diligence - it can be concluded that such cooperation can be of great assistance to any issuer and lead manager performing a due diligence in order to prepare a prospectus, as well as in any private transaction due diligence investigation.

The following section will explain how the concept of due diligence emerged in international human rights law. This also provided a background for Ruggie when he developed his policy framework.