A Comparative Study of the Criminalization of Human Trafficking in International Law and Iranian Laws

The protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, is currently the main international instrument in the field of human trafficking which provides a well-defined definition of human trafficking for the first time. After adoption of the aforementioned instrument, the Law on Combating Human Trafficking was approved by Iranian Parliament in 2004. With the aim of eliminating the shortcomings in this law, on March 29, 2017, “the Bill on Combating Trafficking in Persons and Organs and Punishment of Migrant Smugglers” was approved by the Iranian Cabinet which will repeal contradictory laws, including the law of 2004, if approved by the Parliament. A comparative study of the elements of the crime of human trafficking in the Human Trafficking Protocol, the Anti-Trafficking Law of 2004, and the recent Bill reveals shortcomings in domestic laws and makes it possible to address them in the new Bill. This article shows that despite some amendments, there are still several defects in the Bill. Considering the possibility of ratification of the Palermo Convention and its protocols in the Parliament, filling the existing gaps and conforming the definitions provided in this Bill to the human trafficking protocol would eliminates the need for further amendments.