Courts / Dublin / Report

EU Human Trafficking directive not properly transposed into Irish Law, judge rules

Date
2015-04-15

Stage
Charge Or Pretrial

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

In a High Court ruling, Ms Justice Iseult O'Malley found that an EU Directive on human‑trafficking victims had not been properly transposed into Irish law. The case involved a Vietnamese woman who was discovered locked in a cannabis grow‑house in Dublin and is due to be tried for unlawful possession of cannabis. She claimed she was a trafficking victim and that the State had breached her rights by refusing a declaration of victim status. The judge held that Ireland's mechanism for recognising suspected trafficking victims was inadequate, particularly in how it interacts with criminal investigations. She noted the need for clear rules or protocols when a person claims victim status while also being suspected of criminal activity. Following the judgment, the woman's solicitor intends to ask the Director of Public Prosecutions not to proceed with the prosecution, citing the woman's two‑and‑a‑half‑year prison term. The matter will be heard again later this month.