Human Trafficking Violates Anti-Slavery Provision: Introductory Note to Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia - European Court of Human Rights

Abstract

In a landmark judgment, the European Court of Human Rights ruled unanimously in Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia that human trafficking violates Article 4 (prohibition of slavery, servitude and forced labor) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Although the Court had held in an earlier case that trafficking of a child domestic worker fell within the scope of Article 4, this is the first case in which it has addressed sex trafficking under that provision. This Introductory Note, which will appear in Volume 49 of International Legal Materials, provides an overview of the case and comments on the significance of the judgment.

Keywords: trafficking, European Convention on Human Rights, slavery, servitude, positive obligations, human rights, violence against women

JEL Classification: K14, K31, K33, K42