1. Introduction. – 2. The Historical Evolution. – 3. The International Legal Subjectivity of Multinational Corporations: Evolving Perspectives and Contemporary Developments. – 3.1. Terminological Diversity. – 3.2. The Question of Status. – 3.3. Conceptual Clarification: Subjectivity, Personality, and Participation. – 4. Three Main Paradigms. – 4.1. The Object Paradigm. – 4.2. The Partial Subject Paradigm. – 4.3. The Participant Paradigm. – 5. Towards Greater Recognition of MNCS. – 6. Conclusions.
Background: The traditional state-centric framework of international law is increasingly inadequate in a globalized landscape where multinational corporations (MNCs) wield economic and regulatory power that rivals sovereign states. This doctrinal lag creates a persistent "governance gap," particularly regarding corporate accountability for human rights and environmental impacts. Employing a doctrinal legal research design, this article analyzes treaties, judicial opinions, and soft law to evaluate how the international legal order can better integrate these non-state actors.
Method: The study categorizes the evolving status of MNCs through three paradigms: objects (passive entities fully subordinate to state mediation), partial subjects (context-specific holders of state-granted rights, such as in investment arbitration), and participants (functional actors contributing to a dynamic legal continuum).
Results and conclusions: While existing scholarship acknowledges corporate influence, this paper contributes a three-tiered taxonomy that moves beyond the rigid subject-object binary. It ultimately advocates for recognizing MNCs as secondary limited subjects and proposes a novel framework of rebuttable presumptions for normative responsibilities. By aligning legal obligations with functional global impact, this approach seeks to restore international law's relevance in a pluralistic global order.