DECOLONIZING INTERNATIONAL LAW

AN INVESTIGATION ON THE ROLE OF CORPORATIONS

Abstract

In this article I investigate how the relationships between corporations and law were established, based on a historically-based discussion of their role in the construction of international law. Considering that many of the transnational companies operating today are still rooted in European colonialism, this is a theme that makes a great contribution to the decolonization of law and to the struggles for sovereignty of the peoples of the Global South. The relationship between the expansion of international law and the emergence of empire is a theme that has already been investigated by some theorists who propose the study of the history of international law as an integral part of the history of the capitalist mode of production. Based on this understanding, the absence of international mechanisms to hold transnational companies accountable for human rights violations would not be a mere coincidence, but an expression of the logic of international law and current financial capitalism, in a system designed to benefit companies.