Chapter 10 Guidance on answering the self-test questions

1. What if anything was decided by ‘Somersett’s case’?

That an English court would not compel the return of an escaped slave captured in England to his master. The case is also taken as authority for the view that slavery is (and always has been) unlawful in England – it could not be directly enforced in the courts. The case did not affect slavery in the West Indian colonies which continued until abolished in 1833.

2. Give examples of two types of compulsory labour that is not ‘forced’ labour.

Normal prison work and the normal civic obligations such as compulsory unpaid jury service. The emphasis is on “normal” – there could be “forced labour” if this kind of work involved unusual and onerous demands that were exploitative.

3. What positive duties are required in the context of human trafficking?

The ECtHR addressed this in S.M. v Croatia (2020) where it went out of its way to engage with trafficking. Regarding positive duties, states are required an effective legal framework for effectively protecting victims and punishing offenders. They may also have an ‘operational duty’ to protect known, individual, victims from harm. Well made claims of trafficking must be effectively investigated.