Professor Mervyn King SC will deliver the 2018 Law Oration.
The Law Oration has been established by Deakin Law School (DLS) to explore important legal issues shaping our national and international communities.
The 2018 Law Oration titled, “Human Rights and Good Corporate Citizenry”, will be delivered by Professor Mervyn King SC, former Judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa.
Oration overview
A company’s ability to create value for itself depends on its ability to create value for others. A good corporate citizen develops a business model which takes account of the connectivity and interdependencies between a range of factors that affect a company’s ability to create value over time. Included is the impact which its business model has on the economy, society, the environment and the rights which are inherent to all human beings. International law recognises crimes against humanity but what of the wrongs lawfully committed by companies which impact adversely on individuals in society and society as a whole? Can a company which lawfully commits wrongs on society and/or the environment continue to be a good corporate citizen? What are the consequences of these wrongs for the company and those who direct and manage its business? These questions among others form the crux of Professor Mervyn’s address.
Professor Mervyn King SC
Professor Mervyn King is a Senior Counsel and former Judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa. He is Professor Extraordinaire at the University of South Africa on Corporate Citizenship, Honorary Professor at the Universities of Pretoria and Cape Town and a Visiting Professor at Rhodes.
He has an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the Universities of the Witwatersrand and Leeds, is Chairman of the King Committee on Corporate Governance in South Africa, which produced King I, II, III and IV, and Chairman of the Good Law Foundation.
He is Chairman of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), Chairman Emeritus of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and a member of the Private Sector Advisory Group to the World Bank on Corporate Governance. He chaired the United Nations Committee on Governance and Oversight and was President of the Advertising Standards Authority for 15 years.
He has been a chairman, director and chief executive of several companies listed on the London, Luxembourg and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges. He has consulted, advised and spoken on legal, business, advertising, sustainability and corporate governance issues in over 60 countries and has received many awards from international bodies around the world. He is the author of four books on governance, sustainability and reporting, the latest being “The Chief Value Office”. He sits as an arbitrator and mediator internationally.
He recently received the ICGN Award for promoting quality corporate governance globally.
For more information regarding the 2018 Law Oration, visit the Oration's official webpage.