Alexandra Felix QC & Ruth Broadbent examine the complexities of modern slavery within the UK’s criminal justice system
- In R v DS, the Court of Appeal ruled that the issue of whether a defendant is a victim of human trafficking and modern slavery is a matter for the jury to decide, rather than the judge.
- However, the judgment does not resolve the question of how a jury can determine a defendant’s status as a victim.
In February 2020, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in R v DS [2020] EWCA Crim 285. The appeal arose from a terminatory ruling in a county lines drugs case, the judge having stayed the prosecution as an abuse of process in light of the Single Competent Authority’s (SCA) determination that the defendant, a child, was a victim of human trafficking. The appeal was allowed, with the court concluding that the introduction of the ‘modern slavery defence’ (s 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA 2015)) meant the issue of exploitation is not a matter for the
