Professor Lorand Bartels MBE, Fellow in Law, has been appointed by the Minister of State for Trade to a government body that promotes responsible business conduct by multinational enterprises abroad.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has, for two decades, set standards for responsible business conduct on issues including human rights, environment, employment, bribery, supply chain management and taxation. The UK National Contact Point (NCP) promotes these standards and handles complaints by interested parties against multinationals that do not meet these standards.
Professor Bartels has been appointed to the NCP’s Steering Board, which oversees the UK NCP complaints mechanism, and more generally promotes the OECD’s standards. Professor Bartels said: “The UK NCP plays a vital role in ensuring that multinationals comply with internationally accepted guidelines. This not only directly helps people in areas where multinationals operate, but it also helps to create a fair and level playing field for multinationals operating abroad.”
Professor Bartels is also the Chair of the UK Trade and Agricultural Commission and a UK-nominated arbitrator for the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. He was awarded an MBE in the 2022 Queen’s New Year Honours for services to UK trade policy.
