Neither here nor there : responsibility for protecting trafficked migrants under European law

Abstract

The past two decades have witnessed a proliferation of European laws on trafficking in persons, together with increasing engagement with this phenomenon in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union. These developments have helped consolidate the types of rights enjoyed by victims of this crime within the European space. At the same time, ambiguities persist in determining the conditions under which states are required to secure these rights, particularly when victims are identified in a country where they fail to satisfy the requirements for lawful residence. This challenge stems from the anti-trafficking laws themselves, which are marked throughout by a tension between promoting the wellbeing of victims and pursuing state interests in the sphere of immigration control. Against this backdrop, the thesis conducts a comprehensive analysis of the different constraints imposed on states’ immigration powers by European anti-trafficking rules and applicable human rights norms, focusing on how these shape access to protection and support for victims of this crime. The key contribution of the thesis lies in situating this analysis within a discussion of responsibility for securing the rights of trafficked migrants. Through this perspective, I develop arguments to suggest that states are precluded from exercising their powers of immigration control in a way that compromises the ability of victims to access appropriate protection and support, particularly when these rights cannot be exercised in another country. These claims, rooted in recent judicial and legislative developments at the European level, allow for a reappraisal of the complex interplay between immigration control, criminal justice, and victims’ rights in the anti-trafficking context, while also producing novel insights into ongoing protection challenges.