This book focuses on trafficking in human beings, which on the one hand is a multidimensional phenomenon that evolves rapidly and constantly takes new forms, on the other hand it constitutes a global problem with political, legal, social and economic aspects. Although much emphasis has been placed on human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation (prostitution, child prostitution, child pornography), other forms of exploitation also fall within the scope of the term, including forced labour, recruitment during armed conflicts, trade in infants and trade in organs and tissues. Trafficking in human beings is a social problem, as well as an international issue, since it is rarely limited within the borders of a single country, and it affects most states on earth. Since human trafficking affects many social phenomena, its fight is interdependent with the legal regulation of other issues, such as immigration, granting asylum, prostitution, work and labour rights, minority rights, unemployment, the fight against organised crime, etc. Tackling human trafficking does not fall within the scope of one, but several branches of law, mainly criminal, labour, EU and international law, as well as criminology.

This piece of work critically reviews the regulatory and institutional framework established at an international and European level so as to combat human trafficking. The existing framework reflects two different and usually opposing approaches, the repressive and the anthropocentric ones. The criterion for distinction is the emphasis put on the prosecution of the perpetrators and the suppression of crime according to the first approach, and on the protection of the victims according to the second one. On the basis of this distinction, these two approaches are being examined with regard to their main directions and characteristics, while their effectiveness is evaluated and their weaknesses are highlighted.

Apart from the plethora of international and European regulatory instruments, whether binding ones or not, the Trafficking in Human Beings also touches the relevant case-law of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the practice of the Human Rights Committee of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, the jurisprudence of the ECtHR and the former European Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court for Human Rights, as well as the decisions of the European Committee on Social Rights. The decisions and positions of these organs are useful primarily in interpreting the fundamental rights, in defining the nature of States’ obligations, as well as their application even in cases of trafficking in human beings.