Projects per year
Abstract
Currently there is no clear understanding of the meaning of ‘slavery’ in modern international law. While generally it is accepted that the
authoritative definition of slavery is provided by Article 1 of the Slavery Convention 1926, in recent times slavery has been understood in such a wide variety of ways that effectively it is a meaningless term. This paper reflects on this interpretation problem and aims to redress this balance by reclaiming the core meaning of the legal definition. It applies property law perspectives to explain the conception of ownership invoked by Article 1, to argue that it remains relevant and to explore how it might be applied in identifying modern cases of slavery.
authoritative definition of slavery is provided by Article 1 of the Slavery Convention 1926, in recent times slavery has been understood in such a wide variety of ways that effectively it is a meaningless term. This paper reflects on this interpretation problem and aims to redress this balance by reclaiming the core meaning of the legal definition. It applies property law perspectives to explain the conception of ownership invoked by Article 1, to argue that it remains relevant and to explore how it might be applied in identifying modern cases of slavery.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 915-938 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | International and Comparative Law Quarterly |
| Volume | 61 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Oct 2012 |
Keywords
- enslavement, exploitation, possession, property, slavery, trafficking.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Law
- Political Science and International Relations
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'ARTICLE: Property and the Definition of Slavery'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Active
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R1997LAW: Slavery as the powers attaching to the right of ownership
Allain, J. & Hickey, R.
01/08/2008 → …
Project: Research
Impacts
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The Definition of Slavery: Contemporary Relevance and Legal Certainty
Jean Allain (Participant)
Impact: Societial Impact
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Forced Labour Monitoring Group
Robin Hickey (Participant)
18 Jun 2013Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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Property and the Legal Definition of Slavery, Plenary panel, Association for Law, Property and Society Annual Meeting. Georgetown Law Center, Washington DC
Robin Hickey (Keynote/plenary speaker)
02 Mar 2012Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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'The Structure of the Definition of Slavery and the Substance of Ownership', AHRC funded presentation, Conference on The Legal Parameters of Slavery, Harvard University (W.E.B DuBois Institute; Harvard Law School; and the Harvard Department of Sociology)
Robin Hickey (Participant)
Aug 2011Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference