Institute for Migrant Rights
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Migration Jurisprudence from the South › France

Siliadin v. France

European Court of Human Rights · France · 2005-07-26 · Regional court or body

Citation: no. 73316/01
Type of case: Constitutional and human rights
Outcome: Decided for the migrant side

Question

Did French criminal law protect a teenage domestic worker from servitude and forced labour?

What the court decided

No. Article 4 requires states to make servitude and forced labour criminal offences and enforce them; the law then in force did not give practical and effective protection.

In plain language

A teenager from Togo was made to work in a home in Paris for years without pay or rest. The European Court said France broke the Convention because its criminal law did not properly punish servitude. France changed its law.

Dalam bahasa sederhana

Seorang remaja dari Togo dipaksa bekerja di sebuah rumah di Paris bertahun-tahun tanpa upah dan istirahat. Pengadilan HAM Eropa menyatakan Prancis melanggar Konvensi karena hukum pidananya tidak cukup menghukum perhambaan. Prancis mengubah undang-undangnya.

Pertanyaan: Apakah hukum pidana Prancis melindungi pekerja rumah tangga remaja dari perhambaan dan kerja paksa?

What happened afterwards

  • 2003: Penal Code Arts. 225-13 and 225-14 amended.
  • 2005-07-26: Violation found.
  • 2011: Committee of Ministers closes supervision (CM/ResDH(2011)210).
  • 2013-08-05: Law 2013-711 adds offences of slavery, servitude and forced labour.

Sources

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/siliadin-2005/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.

For researchers

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