An interview with dr. Carmen Marquez Carrasco: the European Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDDD)

Abstract

The present interview with Professor Dr. Carmen Márquez Carrasco, Full Professor of Public International Law and International Relations at the University of Seville, constitutes a valuable academic and practical testimony on the evolution of the international regulatory framework regarding business and human rights. In a conversation with faculty and students from the postgraduate Law program at the Faculty of Campinas (FACAMP-Brazil), key issues are addressed concerning the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) as it was about to be adopted, as well as the geopolitical, environmental, and regulatory challenges surrounding its effective implementation.  

This European regulation, ultimately adopted as Directive (EU) 2024/1760 of the European Parliament and the Council, dated June 13, 2024, establishes rules on corporate due diligence in sustainability matters, aiming to ensure that companies operating in the internal market contribute to sustainable development and the transition towards more sustainable economies. This is to be achieved through the identification, prevention, and mitigation of actual or potential adverse impacts on human rights and the environment linked to their operations, those of their subsidiaries, and their business partners within their chains of activities. The Directive entered into force on July 25, 2024, twenty days after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, following numerous and significant challenges during the legislative adoption process — notably a “sabotage” attempt in February and March of 2024.  

Regrettably, President Ursula von der Leyen, citing the Draghi and Letta reports on European competitiveness and regulatory simplification, and invoking the new geopolitical context, led the European Commission to approve an Omnibus Proposal that modifies the due diligence obligations in ways that may hinder the generation of real impact.  

Professor Márquez Carrasco analyzes the context of the Directive, its potential impact, its interaction with national and regional regulations, and its global projection, from a critical and committed legal perspective. The interview also offers reflections on her academic trajectory, institutional challenges through a gender lens, and the transformative role of teaching and legal research in building a transnational sustainability agenda.