Das Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz – Ein nachhaltiger Ordnungsrahmen für international tätige Marktakteure?

Abstract

On 16 July 2021, the German legislator adopted the Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains (LkSG). It is the most important step taken so far by the German legislator in terms of promoting corporate sustainability and the protection of human rights in globalised supply chains. Unfortunately, the Act did not make use of the opportunity to take on a pioneering role in the broader comparative context. The authors critically analyse the sustainability conception of the Act as well as its provisions in terms of scope and enforcement. In both aspects, the Act falls short of expectations, as it does not introduce a comprehensive concept of sustainability, small and medium-sized enterprises are excluded from the scope of application and a comprehensive due diligence along the supply chain is not achieved. On the enforcement level, the main weakness of the LkSG lies in its lack of regulation of civil liability.