Social Responsibility of an Enterprise
Module 9
Corporate Social Responsibility
Prof. Dr. Mehrdad Payandeh, Sonja Radovic Paul
The course will introduce students to the topic of corporate social responsibility or business and human rights. The first part of the course focuses on the implications of ethics for business activities in a global economy. It spotlights conflicts between profit and moral at the hands of a number of real-life case studies. The second part of the course focuses on the implications of international human rights law for business, and of corporate activity for international human rights law. The course will analyze different international regulatory strategies dealing with business and human rights (including the UN Norms, the Global Compact, the UN Guiding Principles as well as the current discussion regarding an international treaty on business and human rights). It will then turn to regulation on the regional level, examining developments in the European Union (in particular the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive), as well as through domestic legislation, taking the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz) as an example. Students will be expected to read a number of fundamental texts as well as case studies in preparation.
Introduction to White-Collar Crime
Prof. Dr. Thomas Rönnau, Prof. Dr. Kilian Wegner
This course introduces students to the fundamental concepts and structures of economic criminal law (white-collar crime) from a practical, risk-oriented perspective. Rather than focusing on detailed legal doctrine or jurisdiction-specific intricacies, the course is designed to sensitize future decision-makers, legal advisors, and compliance officers to typical criminal law risks that may arise in corporate settings.
Participants will explore the potential consequences for both companies and individuals when economic crimes are committed within an organization. A particular emphasis is placed on the growing significance of corporate compliance systems—not only as tools for crime prevention but also as key elements in assessing corporate and managerial liability under criminal and quasi-criminal legal regimes.
The course adopts a comparative and interdisciplinary approach, making it especially valuable for students from diverse legal and cultural backgrounds. Legal frameworks from different jurisdictions are discussed insofar as they illustrate common trends or global standards in corporate liability and compliance.
Studium Generale
Prof. Christopher Bisping
The Studium Generale aims to broaden students’ perspectives by going beyond the two core disciplines of the MLB program. It consists of classes, spread throughout the academic year, that take a variety of forms including country presentations given by the MLB students about their home countries, lectures, discussions and debates as well as excursions. As a part of the Studium Generale students are required to take part in a 30-hour Social Project. The addition of this project to the Program curriculum reflects our belief that future leaders must have not only an excellent academic background; they must also be ready to shoulder responsibility in the societies in which they live, especially with regard to those people less fortunate than themselves.
