Migration Jurisprudence from the South › Azerbaijan

Zoletić and Others v. Azerbaijan

European Court of Human Rights · Azerbaijan · 2021-10-07 · Regional court or body

Citation: App. no. 20116/12
Type of case: Constitutional and human rights
Outcome: Decided for the migrant side

Question

Did Azerbaijan fail to investigate the trafficking of migrant construction workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina?

What the court decided

Yes. Despite credible reports, the authorities did not investigate the alleged forced labour and trafficking, breaching Article 4.

In plain language

Men from Bosnia were taken to build in Azerbaijan, had their passports taken and were not paid. The authorities did not investigate. The Court found a breach of the duty to investigate.

Dalam bahasa sederhana

Pria dari Bosnia dibawa untuk membangun di Azerbaijan, paspornya ditahan dan tidak digaji. Pihak berwenang tidak menyelidiki. Mahkamah menemukan pelanggaran kewajiban menyelidiki.

Pertanyaan: Apakah Azerbaijan lalai menyelidiki perdagangan pekerja konstruksi migran dari Bosnia dan Herzegovina?

What happened afterwards

2009: Workers return home.
2021-10-07: Judgment.

Sources

HUDOC (search)

Open this decision in the interactive collection (compare, filter, Indonesian view, downloads).

Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/echr-zoletic-2021/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.

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