The Chambers Global Guide 2024 has been announced. Six lawyers from Pels Rijcken have been included because they are leading in their work according to their clients and relations. We asked them to look both back and ahead. Read the story of Claire Huijts here, associate to watch, Chambers Global Market Leader 2024. A nice spot on the rankings.
What does that mean for you?
It's a great honour that my clients and peers have so positively received my work in the field of business human rights (BHR). It's a wonderful way of having your efforts recognised!
What was an important development in your work in 2023?
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive has entered into force. The CSRD has expanded the regulations around sustainability reporting for business that had been established by the Non-Financial Reporting Directive that entered into force in 2014.
What legal challenge has affected many of your clients this year?
Clients have to get started with the CSRD.
There are also a lot of developments on the European level in the field of sustainability, which clients need to keep up to date on. For example, upcoming regulations in the coming years including the regulation on sustainable batteries, the regulation on deforestation, the regulation on wage transparency, and most likely the corporate social responsibility due diligence directive. We are also seeing more lawsuits relating to BHR. It is important that clients are prepared for the legal developments and up to date on the possibilities and risks.
Name a publication by a colleague that helped you step it up!
I always enjoy reading my colleague Martijn Scheltema's work - in my opinion, Martijn is the national and international authority in the field, and has been a fantastic mentor to me. One example of a very useful publication is 'Administrative oversight for adequate due care (outside the EU)', NTB 2023/171.
The reviews are laudatory. What are the driving forces behind this for you?
I have a strong belief in universal human rights, and the idea that everyone is equal and should be treated as such. In the Netherlands, we find it normal that everyone has a right to a minimum wage and safe working conditions, but that is not the case everywhere. Of course, it doesn't always go right in the Netherlands either, just look at the wage gap. I think that it's a good development that there is more attention for such circumstances both in the Netherlands and abroad. I can see an incredible drive in my clients to properly organise their operations, in a way that does justice to people and the world. I will happily take on these challenges with my clients, with the goal of applying these shared ideals in practice.
What (new) book will we ever read from your hand?
Once the legal landscape in the field of BHR has become more concrete, it may be interesting to write a manual on BHR on the development of a situation with almost no legislation to one with a strong legal framework, landmark cases and the legal challenges that are currently ongoing.
