"Another step towards the adoption of a mandatory HRDD bill in Switzerland", 16 July 2018

On the 14th June, the National Council (first chamber in the Parliament) in Switzerland approved a counter-proposal to the citizen Responsible Business Initiative (RBI)...

[T]he National Council’s counter-proposal represents a compromise among the views of the RBI’s proponents, the Parliament and the business community. It has gathered the support of [...] John Ruggie, and of the business association representing 90 Swiss multinational companies...

Nonetheless, [...] the counter-proposal widely reduces the scope of the law, as it only applies to large companies. Civil liability provisions are also importantly restricted [...] (a table comparing the two proposals can be consulted in the SCCJ’s website).

Despite its shortcomings, the counter-proposal represents an important step forward... The process to adopt and implement the counter-proposal is also quicker than the one to adopt the RBI...

For these reasons, the RBI’s committee had committed to withdraw the initiative if the counter-proposal was adopted by the National Council...

The Council of States (upper chamber in the Swiss parliament) has still to vote the text, something which is expected for next fall or winter...

More information on the RBI evolution , legal table and more,  on the bhrinlaw.org website.

Read the text of the initiative with explanations, here.