Financial Institutions and Individual Autonomy—a Human Rights Perspective

Łukasz Szoszkiewicz; Rafał Świergiel

doi:10.18290/rnp.2018.28.4-7en

Łukasz Szoszkiewicz Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6671-2893
Rafał Świergiel Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7519-6955

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rnp.2018.28.4-7en

Keywords: business; economic rights; United Nations; banks

Abstract

This paper seeks to provide a systematic analysis of the changing relations between financial institutions, banks in particular, and individuals in the 20th and 21st centuries. The first part of the study presents the history of relations between the state, financial institutions and individuals in the twentieth century, while the second part is devoted to the changes that have taken place internationally in this area in the 21st century in the activities of non-state actors, including financial institutions, as more and more often obligations in the field of human rights protection are being emphasised. The attribution of such responsibility indicates the fact that the international community is seeking to strengthen the protection of individual autonomy. This is also confirmed by the analysis of the final observations formulated by treaty bodies functioning within the UN system of human rights protection.

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