A Corporate Crime Base*

The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights has a page with various resources dedicated to business in conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRAs)

UNDP has developed a manual on “Heightened Human Rights Due Diligence”, which is the existing global standard for due diligence in relation to CAHRAs.

The OECD has developed a general guidance on responsible business conduct, with a series of sector bases advisories

The Institute for Business and Human Rights (IHRB) has long experience on issues of business and human rights in conflict

The ICRC and DCAF have developed a toolkit for “Addressing Security and Human Rights Challenges in Complex Environments”

For investors, the Heartland Initiative has useful tools, including a “saliency-materiality nexus” designed to leverage due diligence to prioritize the most severe human rights abuse.

The Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) was an innovative attempt to encourage responsible business engagement in a complex environment (to put it diplomatically). MCRB was forced to end operations in 2024 but their materials are still up online and applicable beyond Myanmar.

We have long experience with these standards. Trying to figure out the difference between “cause, contribute, and directly linked”? Got a resource you would like us to list here? Drop us a line.

Tactical Tech’s Exposing the Invisible has a great collection of ‘how-to’ guides, including on supply chain and product investigations and on company research

Bellingcat’s Online Investigation Toolkit has a section on companies and finance as well as one on conflict

The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) has a database that includes civil and criminal actions (warning: they use the word "lawsuits" to refer to all actions against companies, which can be confusing)

Open Sanctions provides a searchable database for all kinds of sanctions.

Investigate has a searchable database of companies. It is a project of the American Friends Service Committee (who are excellent at this stuff)

OpenCorporates searchable database with legal entity (company) data from primary sources across 140+ jurisdictions

If you get stuck, The Counter can usually help. The Counter is a global helpdesk for environmental and social justice activists challenging corporate power, set up by SOMO (a really cool initiative which we wish we’d thought of…grrrrr)

For help with planning or conducting investigations or due diligence, we can offer advice, training and assistance. Get in touch.

Amnesty International manages a Corporate Crimes Hub, with a legal database and tools (it is offline at the moment so here is the archived version)

TRIAL International has a database that tracks all universal jurisdiction cases, which includes 21 cases involving businesses.

The BHRRC database includes a legal portal, which is a good place to start to look for cases.

OECD Watch has a complaints database, which lists National Contact Point cases. A good place to look for fact-patterns or how companies have responded.

InterJust has an easy-to use universal jurisdiction database called Justice Beyond Borders. It covers legal options for atrocity crimes around the world.

ECCHR litigates both international crimes and business and human rights and has a useful cluster on business in war and dictatorships

Sherpa litigates economic crimes and human rights and has a range of resources, including case profiles

Global Legal Action Network litigates a series of cases focused specifically on war and occupation

The Center for Constitutional Rights litigates international crimes as well as corporate capture

This is just a selection of sources for cases and case law from organisations operating transnationally. There are many others, including law firms and justice NGOs, that work nationally or locally.

Let us know if you need help with assessing legal options. We can help, and if we can’t we may know people who can.