suggested citation: A. Bonfanti, Arms Trade Litigation in European Courts: Implications for the Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights in the Arms Sector, lceonline (www.lceonline.eu), 1/2026, I/Saggi e contributi, p. 41 ss.
key words: business and human rights; human rights due diligence; arms trade; litigation; corporate responsibility; international law
abstract: Although recent arms trade litigation pending before multiple European courts mainly involves State authorities as defendants, the adopted rulings are also likely to impact the accountability of businesses in the arms sector for human rights violations potentially linked to arms transfers. Given the tight coupling between corporate export decisions and State foreign and security policy, these rulings indeed risk undermining the call for heightened human rights due diligence (H HRDD) set out in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and hindering its effective implementation. Failure to include an end-use approach in the recently adopted EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive — which would have placed duties on the arms sector — further exacerbates this situation. Against this backdrop, this study calls for shared responsibility of exporting States and businesses to prevent violations of human rights, international humanitarian law and peremptory rules of general international law in this sector. The article contributes to scholarship at the intersection of business and human rights (BHR) and arms trade law, arguing for a cross-fertilization of these distinct but interconnected normative frameworks.
