Slavery as the Powers Attaching to the Right of Ownership

Does 'slavery' exist today? If so, what is to be considered slavery and what is not; in other words what are the legal parameters of this notion of slavery? This is an open question as the European Court of Human Rights says 'slavery' only entails legal ownership; the Yugoslav Tribunal says that a number of indicators are relevant beyond ownership, while the Australian High Court says that the 1926 definition is meant to deal with cases, not of ownership, but of de facto slavery'.

The proposed research will seek to establish what is to be considered as slavery in law. A group of twenty scholars, experts in their fields will meet on two occasions to give presentations and exchange ideas as to what the legal term 'slavery' means. These presentations will then be collected and published in an edited book and disseminated through concise 'International Guidelines' meant to assist judges and legislators.

The legal definition of slavery was established by the League of Nations in 1926 as the 'status or condition of a person over whom any or all the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised'. This definition of slavery apparently has its roots in Roman law, it deals with issues of property, of human rights, and has a legacy of application in a number of countries most noticeably during the era of the Atlantic Slave Trade.

The group of scholars, known as the Research Network, is made up of leading academics in the history and sociology of slavery; and legal scholars from various fields of law. They will consider the definition of slavery. They will meet on two occasions; first in the UK, to provide a tentative outline of the approach as to their understanding of the meaning of 'the powers attaching to the right of ownership'. At the second meeting to be held in the United States of America, the participants will deliver the first draft of their work, with two participants providing a critique and the floor being open to discussion and comments. Based on those discussions, the participants will rework their draft and provide it for publication in an edited volume entitled Slavery: The Powers Attaching the Right of Ownership.

Establishing the parameters of the definition of 'slavery' is fundamental to dealing with twenty-first century human exploitation. The importance of determining what the definition means is to be found in part in the fact that there is conflicting case-law, that the 2002 International Criminal Court has determined that enslavement is one of the crimes under its jurisdiction, and that 'slavery' is mentioned in the 2000 UN and 2005 Council of Europe trafficking conventions as a crime that should be suppressed.

The central aim of the Research Network is to bring together for the first time, experts in different areas of the law and on the issue of slavery from the UK and the USA to consider a topic which has gained renewed importance in the twenty-first century. Beyond this hard core objective, the Research Network comprises a number of early career academics and postgraduate students who will benefit from their interaction with leading academics. The Research Network will also comprise individuals from outside the research community, working for the leading anti-slavery nongovernmental organisations in the United Kingdom and in the United States of America.