Evolving Standards Under Article 4 ECHR: The Risk of Conceptual Drift and the Dilution of the Severity Threshold within the Regime of Slavery and Related Practices

Abstract

Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which prohibits slavery, servitude, and forced labor, has progressively been interpreted to encompass human trafficking. While this development enhances the protection of fundamental rights, it also presents important challenges–chief among them, the need to establish a clear minimum threshold of severity to ensure the provision remains effective. This threshold should be firmly anchored in the traditional legal criteria used to define slavery, servitude, and forced labor, particularly coercion and the gravity of exploitation. These elements are essential for distinguishing conduct that merits the Convention’s strongest protections and most serious sanctions from behavior that, although reprehensible, does not fall within the scope of Article 4.