A/HRC/14/27 rights due diligence, by itself, should automatically and fully absolve a company from Alien Tort Statute or similar liability.45 D. Summing up 87. Just as “the duty to protect” provides guidance to States on how to achieve greater policy coherence and effectiveness with regard to business and human rights, so “the corporate responsibility to respect” provides companies with a pathway for managing human rights risks effectively. It identifies critical lacunae in legal compliance issues and leads to a due diligence process whereby companies become aware of and address the human rights harm they cause. At the same time, it can inform efforts by other actors, including States and civil society, to facilitate and ensure that companies respect rights. V. Access to remedy 88. In resolution 8/7, the Council underscored the need for “enhancing access to effective remedies available to those whose human rights are impacted by corporate activities” and asked the Special Representative to “explore options and make recommendations”. 89. He has focused on three types of grievance mechanisms that can provide avenues for remedy: company-level mechanisms and both non-judicial and judicial State-based mechanisms. He has also examined how these can be complemented by initiatives undertaken by industry bodies, multi-stakeholder groups, international organizations and regional human rights systems. 90. A grievance is understood here as a perceived injustice evoking an individual’s or a group’s sense of entitlement, which may be based on law, explicit or implicit promises, customary practice, or general notions of fairness that may differ from standard economic and bureaucratic rationales. A. Company-level 91. Successful companies do not wait for employee or consumer complaints to be lodged with external complaints bodies or the courts. They have established means for dealing with a variety of grievances in order to retain customer loyalty, maintain employee morale and sustain their reputation as responsive and responsible enterprises. These do not preclude individuals from recourse to State-based mechanisms, nor should they undermine trade union representation and collective bargaining arrangements. They can be important complements; however, such mechanisms remain underdeveloped in the human rights domain.46 92. As noted, grievance mechanisms perform two key functions regarding the corporate responsibility to respect. First, they serve as early warning systems, providing companies with ongoing information about their current or potential human rights impacts from those impacted. By analysing trends and patterns in complaints, companies can identify systemic problems and adapt their practices accordingly. Second, these mechanisms make it possible 45 46 18 This has been proposed by Lucien J. Dhooge, “Due Diligence as a Defense to Corporate Liability Pursuant to the Alien Tort Statute”, vol. 22, 2008, Emory International Law Review, p. 455. All grievance mechanisms need to separate legitimate from vexatious claims; human rights are no different in this respect. GE.10-12629