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Combining immunities under public international law and privileges afforded to certain bodies and persons by domestic law, this book discusses the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights on the conflict between immunities and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

To generate estimates of the global prevalence and incidence of urogenital infection with chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis and syphilis in women and men, aged 15-49 years, in 2016. For chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomoniasis, we systematically searched for studies conducted between 2009 and 2016 reporting prevalence. We also consulted regional experts. To generate estimates, we used Bayesian meta-analysis. For syphilis, we aggregated the national estimates generated by using Spectrum-STI. For chlamydia, gonorrhoea and/or trichomoniasis, 130 studies were eligible. For syphilis, the Spectrum-STI database contained 978 data points for the same period. The 2016 global prevalence estimates in women were: chlamydia 3.8% (95% uncertainty interval, UI: 3.3-4.5); gonorrhoea 0.9% (95% UI: 0.7-1.1); trichomoniasis 5.3% (95% UI:4.0-7.2); and syphilis 0.5% (95% UI: 0.4-0.6). In men prevalence estimates were: chlamydia 2.7% (95% UI: 1.9-3.7); gonorrhoea 0.7% (95% UI: 0.5-1.1); trichomoniasis 0.6% (95% UI: 0.4-0.9); and syphilis 0.5% (95% UI: 0.4-0.6). Total estimated incident cases were 376.4 million: 127.2 million (95% UI: 95.1-165.9 million) chlamydia cases; 86.9 million (95% UI: 58.6-123.4 million) gonorrhoea cases; 156.0 million (95% UI: 103.4-231.2 million) trichomoniasis cases; and 6.3 million (95% UI: 5.5-7.1 million) syphilis cases. Global estimates of prevalence and incidence of these four curable sexually transmitted infections remain high. The study highlights the need to expand data collection efforts at country level and provides an initial baseline for monitoring progress of the 1.

Since the adoption of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights the relationship between human rights due diligence (HRDD) and corporate liability has been a source of legal uncertainty. In order to clarify this relationship, this article compares and contrasts civil liability provisions aiming at implementing HRDD. It explains the legal liability mechanisms in the draft Treaty on Business and Human Rights and in domestic mandatory HRDD legislation and initiatives such as the French Duty of Vigilance Law and the Swiss Responsible Business Initiative. It compares these developments with the emerging case law on parent company and supply chain liability for human rights abuses. It explores the potentially perverse effects that certain civil liability provisions and court decisions might have on companies’ practices. Finally, it makes recommendations for the design of effective liability mechanisms to implement HRDD.

The implementation of mandatory corporate due diligence has been a growing trend in recent years. Viewed as having the potential to prevent corporate abuse, mandatory due diligence can be presented as the mechanism to substantially improve responsible corporate behaviour in practice. In 2022, the European Commission proposed a Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). The proposal presents obligations for companies regarding any actual or potential adverse human rights and environmental impacts, as well as liability for violation of such obligations. It aims to streamline due diligence obligations across Member States and create a level playing field. Since then, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament have agreed their negotiating positions. This paper explores the proposed CSDDD, including amendments, and analyses the challenges and prospects for mandatory due diligence. It explores whether the CSDDD could result in a genuine transformation of corporate practices to prevent corporate harms, or whether developments are similar to the incremental changes already seen over the years. It is argued that while the CSDDD could be another step in the right direction, significantly more needs to be done to prioritise rights holders above corporations and demonstrate a real change in responsible business practices.

As recently stakeholders complain about the use of conflict minerals in consumer products that are often invisible to them in final products, firms across industries implement conflict mineral management practices. Conflict minerals are those, whose systemic exploitation and trade contribute to human right violations in the country of extraction and surrounding areas. Particularly, supply chain managers in the Western world are challenged taking reasonable steps to identify and prevent risks associated with these resources due to the globally dispersed nature of supply chains and the opacity of the origin of commodities. Supply chain due diligence (SCDD) represents a holistic concept to proactively manage supply chains reducing the likelihood of the use of conflict minerals effectively. Based on an exploratory study with 27 semi-structured interviews within five European industries, we provide insights into patterns of implementation, key motivational factors, barriers and enablers, and impacts of SCDD in mineral supply chains. Our results contribute to both theory and practice as we provide first insights to SCDD practices and make recommendations for an industry-wide implementation of SCDD. Altogether, this study provides the basis for future theory testing research in the context of SCDD and conflict mineral management.

In this phase 3 trial, progesterone had no benefit as a neuroprotective agent in patients with blunt traumatic brain injury. Together with a second negative clinical trial of progesterone for acute TBI (SYNAPSE), the findings provide no support for this therapeutic approach. More than 2.4 million emergency department visits, hospitalizations, or deaths are related to traumatic brain injury (TBI) annually, and approximately 5.3 million Americans are living with disability from TBI. The aggregate annual cost of TBI in the United States now approaches $76.5 billion. 1 Survivors of severe TBI typically require 5 to 10 years of intensive therapy and are often left with substantial disability. 2 Despite decades of research, no pharmacologic agent has been shown to improve outcomes after TBI. Progesterone is a potent neurosteroid synthesized in the central nervous system. Preclinical studies in laboratory animals indicated that the early administration of . . .

This paper considers the single machine scheduling problem with three different due dates in which the actual processing time of the job is a simple deterioration function of the starting time. The goal is to minimize the total costs that contain the earliness, tardiness and due date. We prove that these problems are polynomial time solvable, and we propose the corresponding algorithms to obtain the optimal sequence and due date.

Although animal models and early-phase clinical trials suggested that progesterone had beneficial effects in severe traumatic brain injury, this phase 3 clinical trial showed no benefit of progesterone as a neuroprotective agent for this condition. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability, with large direct and indirect costs to society. In the United States, more than 1.7 million persons have a TBI annually, 1 and the annual burden of TBI has been estimated at more than $76 billion. 2 Globally, the incidence of TBI is increasing, particularly in developing countries. 3 Although in recent years there has been a heightened interest in mild TBI and concussion, the problem of more severe TBI remains substantial, despite improvements in trauma systems and critical care. Mortality rates of approximately 40% have been reported in a review . . .

In this randomized trial involving 324 patients with severe traumatic brain injury in Bolivia and Ecuador, guideline-based management with intracranial pressure monitoring was not superior to management based on imaging and clinical assessments. Although the monitoring of intracranial pressure is widely recognized as standard care for patients with severe traumatic brain injury, its use in guiding therapy has incomplete acceptance, even in high-income countries. 1 – 3 Successive editions of the guidelines for the management of severe traumatic brain injury 4 – 7 have documented the inadequate evidence of efficacy, calling for randomized, controlled trials while also noting the ethical issues that would be posed if the control group consisted of patients who did not undergo monitoring. The identification of a group of intensivists in Latin America who routinely managed severe traumatic brain injury without using available . . .

Purpose This paper aims to explain how companies can benefit from their human rights due diligence process to identify opportunities for sustainable development goals (SDGs) activities in an operationalisation of political corporate social responsibility (PCSR). Design/methodology/approach Combining PCSR, SDGs and business and human rights (BHR) literature, the paper develops an extension of the risk-based due diligence process described by the BHR literature, helping companies identify societal needs to which they may contribute in accordance with PCSR through engaging in the SDGs. Findings Companies can benefit from resources they already invest in due diligence to identify their adverse human rights impacts, by drawing on the insights gained on broader needs, including human rights, to which they may contribute. This can help them develop appropriate interventions to address local needs and advance their moral legitimacy through assisting in SDG-relevant fulfilment of human rights. Research limitations/implications The paper provides theory-based guidance on how companies can assess their capacity for contributing societal value through human rights-oriented SDG interventions. Future empirical research may explore how companies apply the extended due diligence process to assess needs and determine relevant actions. Practical implications The paper offers a principle-based analytical approach for integrating the “do no harm” imperative of BHR theory with PCSR’s call for business assistance in the delivery of public goods and the SDGs’ call for business action to “do good’. Social implications This paper enables enhanced business implementation of the SDGs in line with PCSR and human rights theory, especially the emergent field of business and human rights. Originality/value This study gives theory-based guidance for companies for SDG contributions based on innovative combination of literatures.