Trafficking in human beings is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, reception or housing of a person, using coercion (in a broad sense) and with the purpose of exploiting that person. If you or someone close to you is suspected of human trafficking, it is important to call in an expert lawyer. The lawyers at our firm have a great deal of experience in handling criminal cases, including human trafficking cases. Please contact us for assistance and advice.

Trafficking in human beings is punishable by Article 273f of the Penal Code. The legal text can be found below:

Article 273f

1. A person found guilty of trafficking in human beings shall be liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding eight years or a fifth category fine:

1° the one who, by coercion, violence or any other fact or by threat of violence or any other fact, by extortion, fraud, deception or by abuse of a dominant position resulting from actual circumstances, by abuse of a vulnerable position or by giving or receiving payments or benefits in order to obtain the consent of a person who has control over that other person, recruits, transports, transfers, accommodates or takes in another person, with a view to the exploitation of that other person or the removal of that other person's organs;

2° the person who recruits, transports, transfers, accommodates or takes in another person, with a view to the exploitation of that other person or the removal of that other person's organs, while that other person has not yet reached the age of eighteen years;

3° any person who recruits, takes along or abducts another person with the intention of inducing that other person in another country to make himself available to perform sexual acts with or for a third party in return for payment;

4° any person who forces or induces another person by one of the means referred to under 1° to make himself available for the performance of work or services or to make his organs available, or who takes any action under the circumstances referred to under 1° that he knows or should reasonably suspect that the other person thereby makes himself available for the performance of work or services or makes his organs available;

5° any person who induces another person to make himself available for the performance of sexual acts with or for a third party in return for payment or to make his organs available in return for payment, or who undertakes any act in respect of another person which he knows or should reasonably suspect that the other person thereby makes himself available for the performance of those acts or makes his organs available in return for payment, while the other person has not yet reached the age of eighteen years;

6° the one who intentionally takes advantage of another person's exploitation;

7° a person who deliberately takes advantage of the removal of another person's organs, when he knows or should reasonably suspect that his organs have been removed under the circumstances referred to under 1°;

8° a person who intentionally takes advantage of sexual acts of another person with or for a third party in return for payment or the removal of his organs in return for payment, while that other person has not yet reached the age of eighteen years;

9° a person who forces or induces another person by one of the means referred to under 1° to favour him from the proceeds of his sexual acts with or for a third party or from the removal of his organs.

2. Exploitation shall include at least the exploitation of another person through prostitution, other forms of sexual exploitation, forced or compulsory labour or services, slavery and practices similar to slavery or servitude.

3. The guilty party shall be punishable by a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 years or a fifth category fine, if any:

1° the acts described in the first paragraph are committed by two or more united persons;

2° the person in respect of whom the offences described in the first paragraph are committed has not yet reached the age of sixteen years.

4. If one of the offences described in the first paragraph results in grievous bodily harm or threatens the life of another, a term of imprisonment not exceeding fifteen years or a fifth category fine shall be imposed.

5. If one of the offences described in the first paragraph results in death, imprisonment not exceeding eighteen years or a fifth category fine shall be imposed.

6. Article 251 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Penalty for trafficking in human beings

Many people wonder what punishment a person can expect for human trafficking, but that question can never be answered just like that. Punishment is tailor-made. In the case of a conviction, the judge looks at all kinds of factors, such as the circumstances under which the offence was committed, the person of the suspect, the maximum sentence and judgments in similar cases. The lawyers at our firm can make a realistic assessment of a possible penalty, even if it is ultimately up to the court to make the decision.

Our lawyers can assist you throughout the Netherlands. We litigate at the Courts of Alkmaar, Almelo, Amsterdam, Arnhem, Assen, Breda, Dordrecht, The Hague, Groningen, Haarlem, 's-Hertogenbosch, Leeuwarden, Lelystad, Maastricht, Middelburg, Roermond, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Zutphen and Zwolle, the Courts of Appeal in Amsterdam, Arnhem, The Hague, 's-Hertogenbosch and Leeuwarden and the Supreme Court of the Netherlands in The Hague.

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