Remuneration and Forced Labour – The Impact of Remuneration on the Classification as Forced Labour Victim in European Law

Abstract

While European regulations prohibiting forced labour do not explicitly address the impact of remuneration on its presence, a closer look at corresponding case law identifies that indeed some specific principles are repeatedly applied by the European Court of Human Rights. As these guidelines seem to approach the problem in an insufficiently engaged manner, the question arises as to how they could be furthered in order to achieve more efficient, victim-oriented protection. A glance at German law reveals that remuneration thresholds, if cautiously applied, could constitute an adequate, indicational directive in the future.