The space of trafficking-related-vulnerability in the European Legal Order

Abstract

This dissertation examines the role of vulnerability as a legal concept in the European response to trafficking in human beings. It argues that vulnerability is not merely a descriptive feature of trafficking situations, but a normatively productive concept that shapes the definition of trafficking, the legal construction of victim status, and the scope of state duties of prevention, protection and investigation. To capture the continuum of harmful experiences connected with trafficking, the thesis develops the notion of trafficking-related vulnerability (TRV), referring to the spectrum of situations that includes exposure to trafficking risks, subjection to traffickers and exploiters, and the victimological condition of survivors in the aftermath of trafficking. The analysis is situated within the European legal order and moves across the Palermo Protocol, the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, the European Convention on Human Rights, and European Union law. The first part of the dissertation investigates the role of abuse of a position of vulnerability (APOV) in the international definition of trafficking. It shows that APOV is a central trafficking means and a key doctrinal site for understanding how trafficking law addresses forms of domination that are not necessarily violent or overtly coercive, but operate through the exploitation of hardship, dependence and constrained agency. The second part analyses trafficked persons as vulnerable victims under European law. It reconstructs the legal status of trafficking victims and potential victims through EU legislation, Council of Europe instruments and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. The thesis argues that vulnerability serves as the hinge between trafficking victimhood and the attribution of special protection needs, while also informing the interpretation of Article 4 ECHR and the emergence of positive obligations of due diligence incumbent upon states. In this framework, trafficking is understood not only as a transnational crime, but also as a human rights wrong that requires institutional responses capable of preventing victimisation, ensuring effective identification, and supporting recovery, redress and reintegration. The final part substantiates the protection function of European anti-trafficking law by focusing on the institutional and procedural dimensions of vulnerability-informed protection. It discusses National Referral Mechanisms, proactive screening, indicators and risk factors, reasonable-grounds identification procedures, recovery and reflection periods, personalised support, and the need for integrated protection of foreign victims within the Common European Asylum System. The dissertation concludes that European anti-trafficking law is best understood as a developing vulnerability-informed legal order in which criminalisation, victim protection and state responsibility are connected through the management of trafficking-related vulnerability.