W&L Law’s Parella Publishes Article in the Cornell Law Review Prof. Kish Parella published "International Law in the Boardroom."

By Law Communications
August 7, 2023

Washington and Lee law professor Kish Parella has published an article in the Cornell Law Review. The article, “International Law in the Boardroom,” examines how and when corporations comply with international law.

“Conventional wisdom expects that international law will proceed through a “state pathway” before regulating corporations: it binds national governments that then bind corporations. But recent corporate practices confound this story. American corporations complied with international laws even when the state pathway broke down. This unexpected compliance leads to three questions: How did corporations comply? Why did they do so? Who enforced international law? These questions are important for two reasons. First, many international laws depend on corporate cooperation in order to succeed. Second, the state pathway is not robust, then or now. It is therefore vital to identify alternatives to the state pathway in order for international laws – on human rights, climate change, labor rights, corruption, and other issues – to reach corporate boardrooms, C-Suites, offices, and supply chains,” writes Parella.

The article is available online at the Cornell Law Review website. It was featured recently by the online legal journal Jotwell, a site that highlights the best in recent scholarship in a variety of legal fields.

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