Beyond compliance? The socio-legal consequences of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015
<p>When s 54 of the Modern Slavery Act was adopted in 2015, it was widely lauded as a breakthrough and a positive step towards holding businesses to account for labour exploitation in global supply chains. But the provision is not prescriptive and light on enforcement. It drew criticism for a...
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| Format: | Disertacija |
| Jezik: | English |
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2022
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| _version_ | 1826310839080058880 |
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| author | Hsin, K-E |
| author2 | Pirie, F |
| author_facet | Pirie, F Hsin, K-E |
| author_sort | Hsin, K-E |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>When s 54 of the Modern Slavery Act was adopted in 2015, it was widely lauded as a breakthrough and a positive step towards holding businesses to account for labour exploitation in global supply chains. But the provision is not prescriptive and light on enforcement. It drew criticism for a lack of enforcement mechanisms and mandatory requirements. But prompted by calls to go ‘beyond compliance’, corporations scrambled to comply. This paradox raises empirical questions about the effects and implications of the provision. As a case study of light-touch regulation, what generalisations, if any, can be drawn from the effects of s 54?</p>
<p>This thesis empirically examines the response of actors involved in s 54’s implementation, dissemination, and compliance. It casts doubt on the assumptions of regulatory ineffectiveness with complex, qualitative accounts of the wide-ranging effects of s 54 within corporations, in the UK and beyond. S 54 refocused corporate attention on social responsibility and altered corporate perceptions of legal, reputational, and practical risk. It produced ripple effects across industries and ‘trickle down’ demand for advisory services in global supply chains. S 54 is transnational. It has had effects on the UK’s trade relations and responds to international norms such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In 2021, the Modern Slavery Amendment Bill was introduced to ‘strengthen’ the requirements of s 54, signalling a recursive move towards mandatory requirements. Theoretically, s 54 represents the ‘double movement’ in action, and a testament that a ‘weak’ law can create opportunities for ongoing dialogue and progress.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:57:57Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:b6b77354-f4b4-40a8-b853-b73b218aa5f9 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:57:57Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:b6b77354-f4b4-40a8-b853-b73b218aa5f92023-09-05T10:35:54ZBeyond compliance? The socio-legal consequences of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015Thesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:b6b77354-f4b4-40a8-b853-b73b218aa5f9EnglishHyrax Deposit2022Hsin, K-EPirie, F<p>When s 54 of the Modern Slavery Act was adopted in 2015, it was widely lauded as a breakthrough and a positive step towards holding businesses to account for labour exploitation in global supply chains. But the provision is not prescriptive and light on enforcement. It drew criticism for a lack of enforcement mechanisms and mandatory requirements. But prompted by calls to go ‘beyond compliance’, corporations scrambled to comply. This paradox raises empirical questions about the effects and implications of the provision. As a case study of light-touch regulation, what generalisations, if any, can be drawn from the effects of s 54?</p> <p>This thesis empirically examines the response of actors involved in s 54’s implementation, dissemination, and compliance. It casts doubt on the assumptions of regulatory ineffectiveness with complex, qualitative accounts of the wide-ranging effects of s 54 within corporations, in the UK and beyond. S 54 refocused corporate attention on social responsibility and altered corporate perceptions of legal, reputational, and practical risk. It produced ripple effects across industries and ‘trickle down’ demand for advisory services in global supply chains. S 54 is transnational. It has had effects on the UK’s trade relations and responds to international norms such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In 2021, the Modern Slavery Amendment Bill was introduced to ‘strengthen’ the requirements of s 54, signalling a recursive move towards mandatory requirements. Theoretically, s 54 represents the ‘double movement’ in action, and a testament that a ‘weak’ law can create opportunities for ongoing dialogue and progress.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Hsin, K-E Beyond compliance? The socio-legal consequences of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 |
| title | Beyond compliance? The socio-legal consequences of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 |
| title_full | Beyond compliance? The socio-legal consequences of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 |
| title_fullStr | Beyond compliance? The socio-legal consequences of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Beyond compliance? The socio-legal consequences of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 |
| title_short | Beyond compliance? The socio-legal consequences of section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 |
| title_sort | beyond compliance the socio legal consequences of section 54 of the modern slavery act 2015 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hsinke beyondcompliancethesociolegalconsequencesofsection54ofthemodernslaveryact2015 |