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Article 4 – Prohibition of Slavery, Servitude Forced Labour 1No one shall be held in slavery or servitude. 2No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour. 3For the purpose of this Article the term “forced or compulsory labour” shall not include aany work required to be done in the ordinary course of detention imposed according to the provisions of Article 5 of this Convention or during conditional release from such detention bany service of a military character or, in case of conscientious objectors in countries where they are recognised, service exacted instead of compulsory military service cany service exacted in case of an emergency or calamity threatening the life or wellbeing of the community dany work or service which forms part of normal civic obligations. 4 Prohibition of Slavery, Servitude, and Forced Labour • Slavery Where a person owns you as property. Art. 1 1926 Slavery Convention • Servitude Not ownership, yet a serious denial of freedom involving coercion to provide services Siliadin v France 2006. It typically requires the victim‘serf’ to live on another’s property. • Forced or Compulsory Labour Work or service imposed under threat of a penalty from any person under the menace of any penalty Van der Mussele v Belgium 2017. “Penalty” includes both direct threats and perceived fear. It arises when • Work is imposed against a person’s will, and • The requirement is unjust, oppressive, or involves avoidable hardship based on definition found in “Human Rights Human Lives a Guide for Local Authorities” “This arises when a person is made to work or perform a service against their will, and where the requirement to do the work is unjust or oppressive, or the work itself involves avoidable hardship”. Exceptions under Article 43 Clarifications, not derogationslimitations. Forced labour does not include a Work in detention e.g. prison labour, whether paid or unpaid Twentyone detained persons v Germany 1998. b Compulsory military service or alternative service for conscientious objectors Chitos v Greece 2015. Career service is excluded. c Work required in emergencies threatening national survival. d Normal civic duties Van der Mussele v Belgium 2017. No derogation from Article 41, even in national emergencies. Relevant Cases Explained Twentyone Detained Persons v Germany 1998 The detainees were asylum seekers, not convicted prisoners, yet they were required to perform tasks under poor detention conditions. Article 4 allows for compulsory work done “in the ordinary course of detention,” such as prison labour, without explicitly requiring payment. However, in this case, the issue was not the work itself but the degrading conditions of detention, which were found to violate Article 3. Siliadin v France 2006 A 15yearold Togolese girl was brought to France, had her passport confiscated, and was forced to work as an unpaid domestic servant for years, 15 hours a day, 7 days a week. As a vulnerable minor entirely dependent on her employers, this was deemed servitude, not slavery, as she was not “owned.” France was found in breach of its positive obligations regarding slavery and forced labour. Rantsev v Cyprus and Russia 2010 Facts The applicant’s daughter, a Russian national, was trafficked to Cyprus under an “artist” visa and later found dead under suspicious circumstances. Principle Despite Article 4 omitting explicit reference to human trafficking, ECtHR affirmed it is indeed contrary to the ECHR rights. Reilly v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 2013 This case challenged the requirement for Jobseeker’s Allowance recipients to complete unpaid work experience to continue receiving benefits. The Supreme Court ruled that this did not breach Article 4 prohibition of forced labour, as exploitation is a key element of forced labour, which was not present in this scheme. Chitos v Greece 2015 The applicant was a former military officer who had voluntarily chosen a military career but later sought discharge and was required to pay compensation. The ECtHR ruled that this did not constitute forced labour under Article 4, as the exemption for “compulsory military service” applies only to conscription or alternative national service for conscientious objectors, not to voluntarily undertaken career military service. Distinction ensures that those who freely enter military careers cannot later claim forced labour when facing contractual obligations. Van der Mussele v Belgium 2017 A pupiladvocate required to do unpaid pro bono legal work was not carrying out forced labour as the burden was not disproportionate. Tibet Mentes v Turkey 2017 Being required to work unpaid overtime by an employer is not forced labour, and dismissal for refusing to do so is not a penalty re. art. 42. SM v Croatia 2020 Article 42 aims to protect against instances of serious exploitation, such as forced prostitution in this case.