Tort Law, Corporate Groups and Supply Chain Liability for Workers’ Injuries: The Concept of Vicarious Liability

Abstract

Recent years have seen a general trend in Europe to bring tort law claims against multinational companies for wrongs committed in the developing world by their subsidiaries or their contractual partners in supply chains. This article focuses on the possible vicarious liability for workers’ injuries in these two situations. It argues that to the extent such claims should be accepted in the context of supply chains, they should also be accepted in group company settings and that the company law principle of separate entities should not be regarded a barrier to the introduction of such liability in the described situations.