The Role of the Palermo Documents

Abstract

In late 1990s, efforts against transnational organized crime were undertaken at the international level. States agreed that organized crime was becoming increasingly internationalized, which required international responses. To this end, the Palermo documents were drafted.1 This chapter contains an analysis of the Palermo documents, i.e., the Palermo Convention and the Palermo Protocol on trafficking.2 It describes the documents’ importance and their mutual relation as well as by whom, why, and when they were drafted. Firstly, the Palermo Protocol is considered in its specific setting, taking into account the drafting process as well as the document’s historical context. This is carried out according to the concept of legal transplants, more specifically the factor of transmissibility. Secondly, the legal content of the documents is analysed. Emphasis is on the definition of trafficking as stated in Article 3 of the Palermo Protocol. Specific issues of interest, i.e., issues that might affect the national implementation process, are identified. As has been mentioned above, trafficking in human beings affects highly politicized areas such as migration, labour, prostitution, etc. It therefore necessarily involves various perspectives and stakeholders with often disparate priorities. This disparity makes the crime difficult to tackle not only on the national but also on the international level. Also, the crime is a multinational problem. It therefore requires a holistic and international response. This response in turn must be supported and reinforced on the regional and national level. As has been mentioned above, the international community (e.g., the un, eu, etc.) has agreed that a common definition of the crime is a first step toward progress in this specific area. If we are to address and compare something, one of the first steps is agreeing on what it is, and here is where the Palermo Protocol’s definition of trafficking enters into play.