Guiding Principles

Everything else in this framework is derived from these six principles. Where a specific rule and a principle seem to conflict, the principle wins and the rule should be revised.

1. Permissive by default

All actions are allowed unless expressly prohibited. This framework is a deliberately short list of things not to do, not a general license or a code of required conduct. A permissive default keeps the framework usable — a framework that requires pre-clearance for every action gets bypassed, not followed.

2. Innocent until designated

All entities — counterparties, customers, partners — are treated as good-faith actors unless explicitly and formally designated a "bad actor" through the process in GOVERNANCE.md. Suspicion, media speculation, or a single unverified allegation is not a designation. This protects the framework from being weaponized as an informal blacklist and protects counterparties from reputational harm without due process.

3. The company is not the judge

A company applying this framework is not qualified, and should not attempt, to independently assess who is or is not a human rights abuser. That determination is delegated to the independent human rights organizations and mechanisms described in GOVERNANCE.md. A company's job is to apply the resulting designation consistently, not to generate its own.

4. International law over local law

Local and domestic law can be, and frequently is, manipulated by authoritarian or repressive regimes to legalize human rights abuse or to criminalize the exercise of protected rights. Because of this, the dominant standard for assessment in this framework is international human rights law (see reference/international-instruments.md), not the domestic law of any single jurisdiction. Local law is still relevant — operating illegally anywhere is its own problem — but it is not the ceiling on what counts as a human rights violation.

5. Strive not to become the bad actor

This framework is not only a screening tool for counterparties. The organization applying it should hold itself to the same standard it applies to others, and should treat being designated a bad actor by the mechanism in GOVERNANCE.md as an outcome to actively avoid — not a label that only applies to other companies.

6. Narrow scope, on purpose

"Ethics" is vast — it covers labor conditions, environmental impact, competition, taxation, data use, and more. This framework zooms in on human rights specifically. It is meant to be one component of a broader ethics or responsible-business program, not a replacement for one.