Corporate Power, Conflict and Transitional Justice: Addressing Business Human Rights Abuses in the Digital Era

Abstract This article examines how concentrated corporate power in the technology sector reshapes repression and human rights harm, arguing that an integrated Business and Human Rights (BHR) and Transitional Justice (TJ) approach is needed. It identifies three persistent gaps in BHR practice—regulatory fragmentation, limited access to remedy and Global North dominance—and demonstrates how TJ principles, particularly victim-centred participation, Global South leadership and transformative reparations, can address these challenges. Drawing on Latin American experiences with truth-seeking, reparations and corporate accountability, the article develops a hybrid BHR–TJ framework designed to confront power asymmetries, strengthen remedies and embed guarantees of non-repetition in global governance. The argument positions this integration as a forward-looking response to the structural harms of the digital economy, offering tools to move beyond proceduralism towards systemic corporate accountability. By combining BHR’s regulatory tools with TJ’s participatory and transformative approaches, the article contributes a novel accountability model for the digital era.

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Publication Details

Journal
Business and Human Rights Journal
Published
2025-10-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1017/bhj.2025.10027
Primary Topic
Corporate Law and Human Rights
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Corporate Power, Conflict and Transitional Justice: Addressing Business Human Rights Abuses in the Digital Era

Sebastián Smart
Business and Human Rights Journal
Corporate Law and Human Rights
article

Corporate Power, Conflict and Transitional Justice: Addressing Business Human Rights Abuses in the Digital Era

Sebastián Smart
article en

Abstract

Abstract This article examines how concentrated corporate power in the technology sector reshapes repression and human rights harm, arguing that an integrated Business and Human Rights (BHR) and Transitional Justice (TJ) approach is needed. It identifies three persistent gaps in BHR practice—regulatory fragmentation, limited access to remedy and Global North dominance—and demonstrates how TJ principles, particularly victim-centred participation, Global South leadership and transformative reparations, can address these challenges. Drawing on Latin American experiences with truth-seeking, reparations and corporate accountability, the article develops a hybrid BHR–TJ framework designed to confront power asymmetries, strengthen remedies and embed guarantees of non-repetition in global governance. The argument positions this integration as a forward-looking response to the structural harms of the digital economy, offering tools to move beyond proceduralism towards systemic corporate accountability. By combining BHR’s regulatory tools with TJ’s participatory and transformative approaches, the article contributes a novel accountability model for the digital era.

Business and Human Rights JournalVol. 10(2-3)
Anglia Ruskin University (GB)
Openalex Percentile: Top 58%
Corporate Law and Human Rights
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Corporate Power, Conflict and Transitional Justice: Addressing Business Human Rights Abuses in the Digital Era — Sebastián Smart · Business and Human Rights Journal (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS