Slavery, Servitude, Forced Labour and Compulsory Labour: A Comparative Analysis Within the Context of Turkish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights

The concepts of slavery, servitude, forced labour and compulsory labour are among the least addressed topics with a constitutional law perspective. Although prohibited by law for a long time, contemporary forms of slavery, namely “modern slavery” and servitude, forced labour and compulsory labour concepts, unfortunately, continues to maintain its actuality. The Constitution of Republic of Turkey do not prohibits slavery and servitude explicitly, however, international legal order, which Turkey also is an integral part, unequivocally prohibits these two cases. Unlike slavery and servitude, forced labour and compulsory labour are explicitly prohibited by the Constitution. This article focuses on the how these concepts which aiming at protecting the human dignity and personal liberty are dealt with by the European Convention on Human Rights and interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights as well as whether adequate protection provided by the Turkish Constitutio