Abstract:
One would expect no less from this study of contemporary forms of slavery by Emmanuel
Decaux, than that it identifies the fundamental puzzle at the heart of legal issues surrounding
human exploitation, namely, that:
there is a permanent contradiction between the successive attempts focused on „slavery in all its forms‟ as
well as „the practices and institutions similar to‟ – which are at the heart of international instruments, and the
programmes of action of international organisations and non-governmental organisations –; and the criminal
law approach which requires a precise definition to incriminate; either domestically, in the name of the
determinacy of the crimes and of the penalty, or internationally to allow for criminal cooperation. It is to this fundamental paradox that Decaux devoted his attention during his lectures at The
Hague Academy of International Law in 2008. These lectures were published in The
Collected Courses of the Hague Academy series and were also reproduced as part of a
pocketbook series.
