Challenges to Preventing and Prosecuting Corporations’ Involvement in Human Trafficking: Special Reference to the Spanish Criminal Law Response

Abstract

[Abstract] As a response to the increasing awareness of corporations' involvement in human trafficking, the most recent supranacional anti-trafficking legal instruments explicitly require Member States to establish Liability of legal persons for this offence. Such liability can be criminal, civil or administrative, as long as sanctions are effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Although this disposition has been implemented by many Member States, prosecutions of legal persons under trafficking laws are still very rare. This paper, focussing on the Spanish Criminal law response, highlights the challenges to prosecuting and punishing corporations for human trafficking offences, and emphasises the need to recognise the role they might play as preventers.