The paper provides an analysis and overview over the existing human rights standards relating to business...It also analyses existing law and practice regarding civil and criminal liability of corporations...in Europe and [USA]...[as well as] Japan’s law and business practices in this field...It also examines what options exist to complement the existing frameworks with initiatives at regional and national level...The rather restrictive scope of existing human rights treaties contrasts with developments in domestic law, where jurisdictions increasingly apply international human rights law...with the result that human rights norms have become relevant for corporations as well...[refers to Daily Mail, McDonald’s, Markt Intern, Axel Springer, Unocal (part of Chevron), Total, Barclays, Shell, Trafigura Beheer, Brother, Hitachi, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Toshiba]