Danish legislation regarding offenses relateed to human trafficking

Legislation related to human trafficking was incorporated into the Danish Penal Code in 2002 and went into practice on June 8, 2002. The formulation of Section 262 a of the penal code is based on and in order to implement simultaneously the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in human beings to the so-called Palermo Convention of 2000 Against Transnational Organized Crime as well as the EU Framework Decision of July 19, 2002 in Combating Trafficking in Human Beings. The provision thus comprises all forms of trafficking in human beings as defined in these two acts.

Section 262 a of the Danish Penal Code concerning trafficking in human beings reads as follows:

Section 262 a: A person who by an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, housing, or subsequently receiving another person shall be guilty of trafficking in humans and shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of no more than eight years if the following is used or has been used:

(1) Unlawful coercion, under Section 260,

(2) Illegal restraint, under Section 261,

(3) Unlawful inducement, encouragement or exploitation of a mistake or

(4) Another manner of taking unfair advantage in order to exploit the person in question for sexual immorality, forced labour, slavery or slavery-like conditions or removal of organs.

Subsection 2. In the same manner a person shall be subject to punishment that exploits the person in question for sexual immorality, forced labour, slavery or slavery-like conditions or removal of organs,

1) Recruits, transports, transfers, houses or subsequently receives

a person under the age of 18, or

2) Provides payment or other consideration to obtain the consent to the exploitation from a person who has custody of the injured party and the person who receives such payment or other consideration.

"Sexual immorality" shall be interpreted in accordance with Section 228, subsection 1 of the Danish Penal Code concerning pimping. "Slavery" exists when a person, according to a specific assessment, is deprived of his or her liberty and is forced to perform hard labour. "Forced labour" shall be interpreted in accordance with applicable international instruments, including the ILO Forced Labour Conventions of 1930 and 1956.

For more information, please see the Danish National Action Plan.