The Modern Slavery Act (2015): A Legislative Commentary

Author: Haynes, Jason

Abstract: ‘Modern slavery’ is increasingly being recognized by the international community as having the potential to circumvent the rule of law by virtue of the impunity with which many exploiters operate. The threat posed by exploiters is not, however, restricted to the state; the horror stories often shared by victims as to the grave nature of the exploitation they typically have to endure suggest that both victims and the wider community must be prepared to confront the phenomenon of modern slavery in a robust and concerted fashion. In view of the quickly evolving dynamics of modern slavery and the corresponding threats posed to the state and its citizens, the Westminster Parliament recently passed the Modern Slavery Act, some two-and-a-half months after the Northern Irish Assembly passed the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act. To the extent that the nuances of the Modern Slavery Act have not been comprehensively examined in the existing literature to date, this article aims to provide a critical legislative commentary of its myriad provisions, in an effort to determine their relative strengths and weaknesses, as well as their likely impact in practice.

Keywords: human trafficking, modern slavery, Modern Slavery Act, Northern Ireland