24 Jul Violation of Article 4 of the Convention due to the insufficient activity of state authorities in the case of trafficking in human beings

In the case of T.I. and Others v. Greece (application no. 40311/10, 18.07.2019) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been a violation of Article 4 (prohibition of slavery and forced labour) of the European Convention on Human Rights. 

In this case, three Russian nationals claimed that they had been victims of human trafficking. In particular, they alleged that they had been forced to work as prostitutes in Greece. They accused employees of the consulate and the companies concerned of facilitating their transfer to Greece, stating that the documents used to obtain the visas had contained false information. Criminal proceedings were brought against several individuals, including three consular employees, for human trafficking. However, in February 2016 the Indictments Division of the Criminal Court terminated the proceedings, ruling that prosecution of the offences of human trafficking allegedly committed by two individuals was time-barred. The Indictments Division also noted that there was no substantial evidence that the offences of which a further individual was accused had been committed. 

The Court held in particular that the legal framework governing the proceedings had not been effective and sufficient either to punish the traffickers or to ensure effective prevention of human trafficking. he Greek Criminal Code had prohibited forced prostitution and classified it as a lesser indictable offence, punishable by a prison term of between one and three years. Human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation had not constituted a separate criminal offence. Accordingly, the Court was unable to conclude that the legal framework governing those proceedings had been effective and sufficient either to punish the traffickers or to ensure effective prevention of human trafficking. There had therefore been a violation of Article 4 on that account.

Nevertheless, the Court noted that since 15 October 2002 the Greek Criminal Code had expressly prohibited trafficking for sexual purposes. Several amendments had been made to the Criminal Code under Law no. 3064/2002 in order to impose stiffer penalties for human trafficking, which was henceforth classified as a serious crime, and the legislation also provided for specific measures to protect the victims of such trafficking.

It further held that the competent authorities had not dealt with the case with the level of diligence required by Article 4 of the Convention. Given the seriousness of the applicants’ allegations and the fact that they had accused public officials of involvement in human-trafficking networks, the authorities had been under a duty to act with special diligence in order to verify that the acts in question were subjected to detailed scrutiny and thus to dispel the doubts as to the probity of the public officials. 

References from the official website of the European Court of Human Rights