The 2010 Rantsev judgment placed the European Court of Human Rights at the forefront of international judicial efforts to scrutinize States' obligations in the area of human trafficking. Expectations were high after this first-ever judgment against a State for failing to implement a human right-based approach to trafficking. Six years later, the Court's second ruling on this issue, L.E. v Greece, comes as a disappointment. In order to put this judgment into perspective, this study starts with an overview of how the Court came to address the issue of trafficking under Article 4 of the Convention. It then analyses in detail the reasoning developed by the Court in L.E., highlighting a number of inconsistencies with the thinking followed in Rantsev, in particular in relation to the scope of States' positive obligations in the area of prevention and victim protection. The author concludes that the weaknesses identified in this ruling raise serious concerns about the Court's willingness, or capacity, to engage in a holistic human rights-based approach to trafficking. © The Author [2017]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Article 4 European Convention on Human Rights Positive obligations European court of human Rights Slavery Human trafficking L.E. v Greece

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