Corporate Accountability for Involvement in Gross Human Rights Violations During the Brazilian Civil-Military Dictatorship – The Role of the Truth Commissions and the Case of Volkswagen Do Brasil

Abstract

The article describes, analyzes, and evaluates transitional justice measures that were adopted in Brazil regarding corporate responsibility for complicity with the civil-military dictatorship in the practice of gross human rights violations. The main focus is on the performance of the National Truth Commission and the São Paulo State Truth Commission, as well as on the agreement reached between the Prosecution Service and Volkswagen do Brasil in the scope of the civil inquiry established to determine the company’s responsibility for complicity with the civil-military dictatorship. The measures are considered incipient and not problem free, though they represent a breakthrough in corporate responsibility related to transitional justice, encouraging further development and continuity through acknowledgment and the allocation of resources.