This course equips students to navigate the legal principles and policies operating in the global economy and focuses on the relationship and interconnection between business activities and human rights obligations. It examines the basic principles of international human rights law, with particular emphasis on economic and social and cultural rights and uses this as a basis with which to examine current initiatives - in international human rights law, company and commercial law, tort law and trade practices law - for the regulation (and self-regulation) of transnational business both in Australia and internationally. Controversial issues will be explored, including the lending policies of the World Bank and the IMF and the human rights impacts of the law of the World Trade Organisation. The course will also examine the effectiveness of various self regulatory mechanisms to hold transnational business accountable for human rights and environmental obligations using mechanisms such as codes of conduct.