Professor Andreas Rühmkorf
School of Law
Honorary Senior Lecturer in Commercial Law
Full contact details
School of Law
Bartolomé House
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND
- Profile
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I am a Senior Lecturer in Commercial Law and I am a qualified German lawyer, holding the First and Second State Exam. I graduated from the University of Münster and I gained an LLM in International, Commercial and European law at the University of Sheffield.
I was also awarded my PhD from the University of Sheffield. I have lectured at Sheffield since January 2008. I started as DAAD Lecturer in German Law (Fachlektor) and in 2013 I was appointed to a lectureship in commercial law.
My teaching and research interests are Corporate Law, Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability as well as Comparative Law. My current research focuses on the legal aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
I am particularly interested in the role of the home state of multinational enterprises in promoting greater CSR in global supply chains. In 2015, my book ‘Corporate Social Responsibility, Private Law and Global Supply Chains’ was published by Edward Elgar.
I also edited a book on the promotion of sustainable development in German law which was published in 2018 by Nomos. In my research, I also take an interest in corporate governance, often with a comparative point of view.
Qualifications
- Ph.D, University of Sheffield
- Assessor juris (Qualified German lawyer), Second State Exam in law, Federal state of North Rhine Westphalia
- LL.M in International, Commercial and European law (Distinction), University of Sheffield
- First State Exam in law, Higher Regional Court of Hamm (Germany)
- Dipl.jur. University of Münster (Germany)
Teaching and Learning
I teach a variety of modules at both Undergraduate and Postgraduate level. My teaching draws on my research interests. I encourage my students to critically reflect on the policies behind the law and to locate the legal issues within their social, economic and political context. As law is becoming increasingly international in a globalised world, I often include comparative perspectives into my teaching. This enables my students to compare and to critically reflect on different approaches.
In my seminars, I include a variety of tasks such as research-tasks, group discussions, debates and group presentations. Students gain transferable skills such as communicative skills, group work skills and research skills.
In May 2014, I won the Students’ Union Best Personal Tutor award in the University of Sheffield and in 2015 I was again shortlisted for this award.
- Qualifications
-
- PhD, University of Sheffield
- Assessor juris (Qualified German lawyer), Second State Exam in law, Federal state of North Rhine Westphalia
- LLM in International, Commercial and European law (Distinction), University of Sheffield
- First State Exam in law, Higher Regional Court of Hamm (Germany)
- Dipljur University of Münster (Germany)
- Research interests
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- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Company Law and Corporate Governance (European and Comparative)
- Sustainable Development
- Comparative Law
I am a member of the Institute for Commercial Law Studies and the Sheffield Centre for International and European Law research clusters.
- Publications
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Books
Edited books
- Nachhaltige Entwicklung im deutschen Recht: Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Förderung. Nomos.
Journal articles
- Corporate Governance for Sustainability. View this article in WRRO
- Evolution of German corporate governance (1995-2014) : an empirical analysis. Corporate Governance. View this article in WRRO
- Stakeholder Value Versus Corporate Sustainability: Company Law and Corporate Governance in Germany.
- Sustainable Global Supply Chains: From Transparency to Due Diligence.
- Corporate Social Responsibility in der Lieferkette: Governance und Verantwortlichkeiten. Zeitschrift für Unternehmens- und Gesellschaftsrecht (ZGR), 47(2-3), 410-432. View this article in WRRO
- The domestic politics of corporate accountability legislation: struggles over the 2015 UK Modern Slavery Act. Socio-Economic Review. View this article in WRRO
- Steering CSR Through Home State Regulation: A Comparison of the Impact of the UK Bribery Act and Modern Slavery Act on Global Supply Chain Governance. Global Policy, 8(S3), 15-28. View this article in WRRO
- Corporate Social Responsibility in supply chain management. Anwaltsblatt. View this article in WRRO
- New trends regarding sustainability and integrated reporting for companies: what protection do directors have?. Company Lawyer, 36(2), 51-64. View this article in WRRO
- Ratemylegalrisk.com – The Legality of Online Rating Sites Relating to Individuals in Data Protection Law. Intellectual Property Forum(96), 55-67. View this article in WRRO
- The skills of a lawyer and a linguist. The LL.B Law with German Degree at the University of Sheffield. Deutsch lehren und lernen(44), 3-5.
- The liability of online auction portals: Toward a Uniform Approach?. The Journal of Internet Law(4), 3-10.
- Displease Sir: Teacher Rating Legality. Computers & Law(5), 20-22.
- eBay on the European Playing Field: A Comparative Case Analysis of L'Oréal v eBay. SCRIPTed A Journal of Law, Technology and Society(3), 685-701.
- Global Supply Chain Governance: The Search for ‘What Works’. Deakin Law Review, 23, 63-63. View this article in WRRO
Chapters
- Stakeholder Value versus Corporate Sustainability: Company Law and Corporate Governance in Germany In Sjåfjell B & Bruner CM (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Corporate Law, Corporate Governance and Sustainability (pp. 232-245). Cambridge University Press
- From international to national law: The opportunities and limits of contractual CSR supply chain governance In Ulfbeck V, Andhov A & Mitkidis K (Ed.), Law and Responsible Supply Chain Management: Contract and Tort Interplay and Overlap (pp. 15-45). Routledge
- Transparent Companies? Legal Research Strategies to Understand Forced Labour in Global Supply Chains In LeBaron G (Ed.), Researching Forced Labour in the Global Economy: Methodological Challenges and Advances (pp. 148-166). London: OUP.
- Sustainable Global Supply Chains: From Transparency to Due Diligence In Gammage C & Novitz T (Ed.), Sustainable Trade, Investment and Finance Toward Responsible and Coherent Regulatory Frameworks (pp. 110-128). Edward Elgar Publishing
- Das Unternehmensinteresse im deutschen Aktienrecht - eine Chance für die Förderung nachhaltiger Entwicklung? In Rühmkorf A (Ed.), Nachhaltige Entwicklung im deutschen Recht: Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Förderung (pp. 167-191). Baden-Baden: Nomos.
- Reconciling Human Rights and Supply Chain Management through Corporate Social Responsibility In Ruiz Abou-Nigm V, McCall-Smith K & French D (Ed.), Linkages and Boundaries in Private and Public International Law (pp. 147-173). Hart View this article in WRRO
- From Transparency to Due Diligence Laws? Variations in Stringency of CSR Regulation in Global Supply Chains in the ‘Home State’ Of Multinational Enterprises, Globalisation of Corporate Social Responsibility and its Impact on Corporate Governance (pp. 177-201). Springer International Publishing
- The United Kingdom, Disqualification of Company Directors: A Comparative Analysis of the Law in the UK, Australia, South Africa, the US and Germany (pp. 32-68).
- Global sourcing through foreign subsidiaries and suppliers: Challenges for Corporate Social Responsibility In De Jonge A & Tomasic R (Ed.), Research Handbook on Transnational Corporations Edward Elgar View this article in WRRO
- Disqualification of Company Directors Routledge
Website content
- The ILO report on ‘decent work in global supply chains’ - much ado about nothing?.
- Global supply chains: the role of law? A role for law!.
Preprints
- Nachhaltige Entwicklung im deutschen Recht: Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Förderung. Nomos.
- Research group
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Areas of Research Supervision
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Company Law and Corporate Governance (European and Comparative)
- Grants
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Title/Description Awarding Body People Involved Dates Amounts Sustainable Market Actors for Responsible Trade EU Horizon 2020 University of Oslo and SMART Network 2016-2020 £90,000 (to Sheffield)
- Teaching interests
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I teach a variety of modules at both Undergraduate and Postgraduate level. My teaching draws on my research interests. I encourage my students to critically reflect on the policies behind the law and to locate the legal issues within their social, economic and political context. As law is becoming increasingly international in a globalised world, I often include comparative perspectives into my teaching. This enables my students to compare and to critically reflect on different approaches.
In my seminars, I include a variety of tasks such as research-tasks, group discussions, debates and group presentations. Students gain transferable skills such as communicative skills, group work skills and research skills.
In May 2014, I won the Students’ Union Best Personal Tutor award in the University of Sheffield and in 2015 I was again shortlisted for this award.
- Teaching activities
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Undergraduate
- The Law Relating to Public Companies
Postgraduate and MA
- Corporate Social Responsibility and the Law (Convenor)
- Comparative Corporate Governance
- Legal Research and Writing Skills (Convenor)
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Contributing Editor of Shawcross and Beaumont on Air Law (LexisNexis) (2013 - to date) updated twice a year.
- Andreas' work on the liability of online auction portals for third party auctions was cited by the Advocate General Jääskinen in his opinion on the reference for a preliminary ruling from the English High Court to the European Court of Justice in the case L'Orèal v eBay. The Advocate General cited two articles written by Andreas which discuss diverging approaches of different Member States on this issue: "eBay on the European Playing Field: A Comparative Case Analysis of L'Orèal v eBay", (2009) 6 (3) SCRIPTed A Journal of Law, Technology and Society, 685-701 and "The liability of online auction portals: Toward a Uniform Approach?" (2010) 14 (4) The Journal of Internet Law, 3-10.
- External Examiner, University of Edinburgh
- Member of the Anglo-German jurists association
Recent Invited Papers and Keynote Lectures
- A Rühmkorf, 'Human rights due diligence and duty of care in corporate accountability legislation', UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights Roundtable, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, London, 11th September 2019
- A Rühmkorf & L Walker, 'Legislative options for corporate accountability for global supply chains', Amnesty International European Institution Office Brussels, 20th March 2019
- A Rühmkorf, ‘Shareholders in corporate groups’, ius commune conference, University of Amsterdam, 29th November 2018
- A Rühmkorf, ‘National Laws on 'Modern Slavery' and the Limits of Reflexive Law for Supply Chain Governance’, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg, 21st June 2018
- A Rühmkorf, ‘Company law and corporate governance in Germany: From stakeholder value to corporate sustainability?’, Cambridge Handbook Symposium, University of Oslo, 12th March 2018
- A Rühmkorf, ‘The interest of the company in German public limited companies: Opportunities and barriers for the promotion of sustainable development?’, University of Leeds, 15th January 2018
- A Rühmkorf, ‘Lieferketten-Governance: Organisation und Verantwortlichkeiten’, Zeitschrift für Gesellschafts- und Unternehmensrecht (ZGR), ZGR-Symposium 2018 on Corporate Social Responsibility, Königstein/Taunus (Germany), 13th January 2018
- A Rühmkorf, ‘Supply Chain Responsibility of Multinational Enterprises: The Case for a Hybrid Regulatory Approach’, 2017 International Corporate Governance Forum, Bucerius Law School Hamburg, 3rd November 2017
- K McCall-Smith und A Rühmkorf, ‘Sustainable global supply chains: From transparency to due diligence’, International Trade and Investment conference, University of Oslo, 9th May 2017