The non-punishment principle (rule) of victims of human trafficking in Chile. A conceptual approach and its criminal policy challenges

Abstract

This paper argues that the decision not to prosecute or hold victims of human trafficking criminally liable for offenses committed under compulsion in that context is an obligation arising from the specific duty to protect these victims and from the broader duty to guarantee the effective enjoyment of individuals’ fundamental rights. As a result, the article argues that this solution should be applied directly. This is notwithstanding the absence of explicit rules to that effect in the domestic or supranational legal framework, as it is in the Chilean legal system.