Analyzing the International Legal Framework to See Where the Criminal Justice System Lags Behind - Coursework Example

s of A solid criminal justice system will constitute a systemized criminal procedure while ensuring that the legal basis behind the evidence laws call for fair investigating and effective prosecution against offenses. In this context, human trafficking is a wide subject, and it won`t be wrong to state that the range of crimes lying under the domain of human trafficking are still being criminalized. This, however, doesn’t mean that there are no existing laws and agreements enabling government to deal with the issue; in fact municipal as well as transnational laws are in place to ensure communication across borders and within a state. Laws have been carved out to ensure that mutual legal procedures are effective and police cooperation in the field is also viable. Furthermore, the legal system also ensures that laws regarding seizure, identification and even forfeiture are systemized to deal with the issue. However, since the legal framework around the issue is still in a transition phase, there is a need to build cooperative measures amongst nations. Though there is correspondence and communicating building efforts currently in place in national agencies, yet the trickledown effect of these policies isn`t as effective amongst various nations. For this reason, the paper will aim at analyzing the international legal framework to see where the criminal justice system lags behind to offer recommendations. Prior to analyzing the criminal justice system in context to the issue of human trafficking, it is crucial to understand the concept and the domains it entails. Human Trafficking, as the name indicates, implies trade of humans for a variety of purposes. These purposes include sexual slavery, sexual exploitation, forced labor among other causes. In addition, human trafficking is coupled with brutal procedures like organs extraction, tissue extraction, and surrogacy, removal of ova or offering a spouse whilst encouraging forced marriages. Human Trafficking may occur within a country but the concept applies more readily to transnational human trafficking. Human trafficking isn`t just a crime in eyes of law, in fact it is a crime against human since it is a brutal violation of the rights of the victim. Also, coercive measures involved and the aspect of commercial exploitation makes it all further liable to strict legal measures. Reports indicate that the international trade owing to human trafficking in 2010 alone was estimated to be around $31.6 billion (Bryfonski 2013). Also, human trafficking is regarded as one of the most dynamically growing crimes which are transnational in nature. Almost all the international conventions held on the subject of human rights have actively condemned human trafficking. Furthermore, human trafficking is also one of the subjects to be a directive in European Union. In the light of the gravity of the issue, international legal framework surrounding the issue is being advocated strongly by human rights activists. The call for enhancing human rights international standards in context to human trafficking is increasing by the day, and thus the international legal framework must be revised on the basis of trial and error method after having experienced execution of the laws already in place. In order to make sound arguments regarding the legal framework surrounding the issue, it is pertinent to look into the background of law making efforts. The United Nations Trafficking Protocol which came in place as a result of a regime constitution more than 80 states who met in the year 2000 at Italy to carve out a legal framework over the issue was a major breakthrough. As a result of the conference, the codification of laws took place which now exists in the form of United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress & Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women & Children. Prior to the protocol, there were immense legal as well as legal barriers on advocating for the issue, and thus, without any codified version of procedures adopted by the international community, the prospects for cross border communication were quite low. The Un Trafficking Protocol has been successfully ratified by more than 100 states globally, while response mechanism to the protocol is also present in the form of regional as well as national policy measures (Cullen 2009). As a result, policy tools have been identified to pressurize the states party to the issue in taking prompt action and overcoming the local and the legal barriers in their states. A few states have incorporated a set of laws in their legislative documents while integrating certain state departments to deal with the issue. Also, a few states like the USA have incorporated the issue as their foreign policy corrective measures. Therefore, given the attention of the global community on the issue, it becomes easy to sanction efforts to deter the corrective legal framework which implies that at least on paper, a legal framework does exist. One impeccable breakthrough as a result of the emergence of protocol is the consensus of the global community on the nature of the issue of human trafficking, since there were initially technical issues revolving around the definition. The issue was being dealt as a political problem in the past with no separate legislative measures being carved to remedy the situation. Instead, the issue was being dealt alongside other migration related issues where other smuggling laws were being dealt. However, with mass awareness on the issue and diverting action of the international community on the issue, the entire globe is now united on the definition and parameters of the issue. Thus, Human Trafficking is now being dealt as a separate subject and there is consensus on the point that migrant smuggling is not parallel to human trafficking; since the former deals simply with smuggling humans while the latter involved commercialization and exploitation of humans including men, women and even children. In addition, there is enough understanding amongst the policy makers that the issue involves not only coercion but all those aspects of exploitation of humans being which may be utilized for purposes of gaining profits. Also, there is now evidence revealing not precisely and accurately the figures of human trafficking, but at least pointing to the fact that the issue is getting serious by the day and the figures are skyrocketing. The economic fabric encapsulating the issue is quite vast and research in the area is still underway where newer definitions and concepts are being explored by the day. Therefore, there is no second opinion on the point that the legal framework is progressively being constructed in the positive direction to deal with the issue. (Kneebone &Debejlak 2012) Another positive development in this context is the consensus of the world community on the measures which must be in place to remedy the situation. The international legal framework is settled on the point that human traffickers are criminals and thus human trafficking must strictly be criminalized. Also, there is consensus on adding strict punishments and active prosecution of the human traffickers in the legislative framework. The step forward in this context involved strengthening of cross borders measures and communication paradigms, with an effort to ensure that there are no safe havens present to shelter these criminal elements. This progression has paved way for another development which involves incorporating the rights of the victims in the criminal justice system to strengthen the legal framework. Since the victims are significant actors to facilitate the prosecution of these human traffickers, thus, their protection and empowerment must be made critical to the legislative framework, as aspect over which the international community agrees upon. Also, there is awareness over the point that these victims must not be prosecuted for status-related offenses and thus, they must be repatriated in order to ensure that they are safe and unharmed. Therefore, the proposition that tangible progress has taking place in context to criminal justice system surrounding human trafficking can`t be refuted. However, on one hand where progress is taking place, on the other hand another fact prevails; that the progress isn`t at a rate at steady as the gravity of the issue involved. Though a criminal justice framework does exist, it is not being translated into measurable actions, which is a point to ponder about. Since many laws are new and even untested, their viability is still in question. The investigative cases are still less in number as compared to the cases surrounding the global arena, which supports the argument that the efforts are slow and must be redressed. Therefore, the issue doesn’t inherently lie with the codification of criminal justice law to resolve the issue of human trafficking, rather the issue deals with the general practices being experimented which are quite ordinary to what is being expected. The responsibility lies on the wealthier states which are in most cases the destination spots for human trafficking, since these states have the resources and also the moral obligation to design and implement best practices for the other states to follow. However, practical experience indicates that these states have so far been able to convict and prosecute low-level brokers, who undoubtedly are party to the issue, yet the root cause behind instigating the entire issue is still missing. This reveals loopholes in the criminal justice system which clearly hasn’t laid down clear goals and policy blueprints to guide these states over how to deal with the issue effectively. Putting the legal framework to test, a few instances can be discussed. The criminal justice system under the UN Protocol calls for criminalizing human trafficking for states which have ratified the convention. This can conveniently be achieved via passing anti-trafficking laws in the law-making bodies of the respective states. There is, however, a technical issue involved. Criminalizing an act with major economic as well as political aspects required clarifying the specifics aspects of human trafficking which by law are illegal. States like Cambodia and Thailand have so far only managed to criminalize sexual exploitation and a few other aspects involved which contradicts with their commitment to the cause since there is already consensus on the nature of human trafficking, and yet that isn`t being reflect in legal premises. The international community must, therefore, commit to the cause and show seriousness by chaining the issue of human trafficking with other causes like forced labor practices, child labor, forced marriages, debt bondages, money laundering and many other similar issues which must also been codified. The issue is that certain local traditions culture and law prohibit the law-makers from taking a stand in the right direction, while, in a few states, the involvement of economy poses grave dangers to political environment due to which the criminal justice system is left crippled. Therefore, further advocacy movements are required to put further sanctions on state which don’t comply by the UN Protocol in order to encourage them to take steps in the right direction. However, the developed states would have to take initiative while other would follow. In any case, the loopholes must be addressed so that the issue is dealt with the efficacy it deserves. Therefore, conclusively, human trafficking is a serious issue which is also a serious concern for the global community working to improve the criminal justice system. Though the issue is on the agenda of serious issues with the organizations like the United Nations, yet there are loopholes in the criminal justice system working to deal with human trafficking issues which must be redressed. Though there are positive developments too since the international legal framework has been able to draw a consensus amongst the international community to define and identify the issues which must be incorporated to effectively counter the crimes related to human trafficking. Yet, the loophole in the criminal justice system lies in taking measurable action and translating the international framework into criminal procedures which deal with the political as well as economic hands supporting the issues. Though progress is being observed at a smaller level, yet efforts on a larger scale to fight the bigger enemy must be executed in order to reflect sincerity to the cause. Works Cited: Cullen-DuPont, K. (2009). Human trafficking. New York, NY: Facts On File. In Bryfonski, D. (2013). Human trafficking. Kneebone, S., & Debeljak, J. (2012). Transnational crime and human rights: Responses to human trafficking in the Greater Mekong subregion. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Read More