CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN VIETNAM AND ENGLAND: A COMPARATIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS AND DIRECTIONS FOR IMPROVING VIETNAMESE LEGISLATION

УДК 341.48

Abstract

This article provides a comparative legal analysis of criminal liability for human trafficking in Vietnam and England. The purpose of the study is to identify the specific features of criminal-law regulation of human trafficking in the two legal systems and to propose directions for improving Vietnamese legislation in light of foreign experience. The research employs comparative legal, formal legal, systematic and doctrinal methods. The study examines the provisions of the Criminal Code of Vietnam, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 of England and Wales, and international standards established by the Palermo Protocol of 2000. Particular attention is paid to the objective and subjective elements of the offence, the protection of child victims, the legal significance of victim consent, the liability of intermediaries, and mechanisms for victim protection. The article also analyses approaches to exempting victims from liability when offences are committed under coercion. The findings demonstrate the need to clarify the concept of exploitation, strengthen protection for minors, improve victim-support mechanisms, and provide clearer regulation of criminal liability for participants in trafficking networks within Vietnamese criminal law.

Аннотация

Статья посвящена сравнительно-правовому исследованию уголовной ответственности за торговлю людьми во Вьетнаме и Англии. Целью исследования является выявление особенностей уголовно-правового регулирования торговли людьми в двух правовых системах и определение направлений совершенствования законодательства Вьетнама с учетом зарубежного опыта. В работе использованы сравнительно-правовой, формально-юридический, системный и доктринальный методы исследования. Анализируются положения Уголовного кодекса Вьетнама, Закона Англии о современном рабстве 2015 года (Modern Slavery Act 2015), а также международно-правовые стандарты, закрепленные в Палермском протоколе 2000 года. Особое внимание уделяется объективным и субъективным признакам состава преступления, возрасту потерпевших, проблеме согласия жертвы, ответственности посредников, защите потерпевших и освобождению от ответственности лиц, совершивших преступления под принуждением. По результатам исследования обосновывается необходимость уточнения понятия эксплуатации, усиления защиты несовершеннолетних потерпевших, совершенствования механизмов защиты жертв и более четкого регулирования ответственности участников преступных сетей в законодательстве Вьетнама.

Keywords: human trafficking; criminal law of Vietnam; criminal law of England; Modern Slavery Act 2015; Palermo Protocol; exploitation.

Ключевые слова: торговля людьми; уголовное право Вьетнама; уголовное право Англии; Закон о современном рабстве 2015 года; Палермский протокол; эксплуатация.

1. Introduction

Human trafficking is one of the most serious forms of transnational crime and a grave violation of human rights. In the context of globalization, international migration, economic inequality and the rapid development of information technologies, trafficking networks have become increasingly sophisticated, operating across national borders and exploiting vulnerable individuals for sexual exploitation, forced labour, organ removal and other inhuman purposes. Consequently, combating human trafficking has become a priority of both international and national criminal policy.

Vietnam has made significant efforts to strengthen its legal framework against human trafficking through the Criminal Code of 2015, the Law on Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking of 2024 and related legal instruments. However, practical challenges remain concerning the interpretation of exploitation, protection of victims aged between sixteen and eighteen, liability of intermediaries and the protection of victims involved in unlawful activities under coercion.

The purpose of this study is to compare the criminal-law regulation of human trafficking in Vietnam and England and to identify legal solutions that may contribute to the improvement of Vietnamese legislation. The objectives of the study include analysing international standards, examining Vietnamese and English criminal-law provisions, identifying shortcomings in Vietnamese law and proposing recommendations for legislative reform.

2. Materials and Methods

The research is based on international legal instruments, including the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol, 2000), the Criminal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 2015, the Law on Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking 2024, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 of England and Wales, and relevant legal literature.

The study employs several research methods. The comparative legal method is used to identify similarities and differences between Vietnamese and English legislation. The formal legal method is applied to analyse statutory provisions and legal concepts relating to human trafficking. The doctrinal method is used to examine scholarly opinions and legal interpretations. In addition, a systematic approach is employed to assess the coherence of legal regulations and to formulate recommendations for improving Vietnamese criminal legislation.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. The International Legal Standard: The Palermo Protocol as a Basis for Criminalising Human Trafficking

The international legal standard for combating human trafficking is most closely associated with the Palermo Protocol of 2000. Its significance lies in the fact that it offered a comprehensive understanding of human trafficking, consisting of three interrelated elements: act, means and purpose. The acts include the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons; the means include the threat or use of force, other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, and the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person; the purpose is exploitation. Exploitation includes, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude and the removal of organs.

The Palermo Protocol’s provision on children is of special importance. Where the victim is a child, that is, a person under eighteen years of age, the mere recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation must be regarded as trafficking in persons even without proof of the means of influence characteristic of the trafficking of adults. This rule reflects an enhanced standard of child protection and proceeds from the presumption of the child’s particular vulnerability. Consequently, the child’s consent, or the absence of proven violence, deception or coercion, should not preclude classification of the act as human trafficking if the purpose of exploitation is established.

For national criminal legislation, the importance of the Palermo Protocol lies in its orientation of states toward a broader understanding of human trafficking. The issue is not only the sale of a person for money, but also the creation of conditions for exploitation through movement, control, dependency and the use of a vulnerable situation. Thus, the criminal-law model must be capable of covering the entire chain of criminal activity: from initial recruitment to subsequent exploitation. If a national norm focuses excessively on the moment of transfer, receipt of money or material benefit, it may fail to cover modern forms of human trafficking that are externally disguised as employment, education, marriage, assistance with migration or other lawful relationships.

As a participant in international mechanisms against human trafficking, Vietnam must take these standards into account when shaping its criminal legislation. At the same time, national law retains the right to determine the legal-technical construction of the offence. Therefore, the key problem lies not in the formal coincidence between the wording of the national norm and the wording of the Palermo Protocol, but in the capacity of the national norm effectively to cover real forms of human trafficking, ensure victim protection and avoid gaps in relation to children and persons in vulnerable situations.

3.2. Criminal-Law Regulation of Human Trafficking in Vietnam

Vietnamese criminal legislation provides for two principal offences directly related to human trafficking: human trafficking and trafficking in persons under sixteen years of age. This structure reflects the legislator’s intention to provide special protection to younger children while maintaining a general provision for the protection of adult victims. The Vietnamese approach has a number of positive features: it directly recognises the high social danger of human trafficking, provides for severe sanctions, covers sexual exploitation, forced labour, organ removal and other inhuman purposes, and allows different forms of transfer, receipt, recruitment, transportation and harbouring of victims to be taken into account.

Article 150 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam establishes liability for acts committed through the use of violence, threat of violence, deception or other methods where a person transfers or receives another person in exchange for money, property or other material benefit, or for the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labour, organ removal or other inhuman purposes. In addition, recruitment, transportation and harbouring of a person for the commission of the above acts are criminalised. Article 151 addresses trafficking in persons under sixteen years of age and provides a stricter approach to the protection of this category of victims.

The Vietnamese model therefore combines two logics: the logic of prohibiting the treatment of a person as an object of transaction, and the logic of prohibiting exploitation. Historically, in law enforcement, the idea of transferring a person for money or other material benefit remained important. However, the current version of the norm already goes beyond a narrow understanding of purchase and sale and includes the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labour, organ removal and other inhuman purposes. This indicates the movement of national legislation toward the international standard.

It should be emphasised that the legislative separation of Article 150 and Article 151 has both advantages and limitations. Its advantage is that children under sixteen are placed in a special category of enhanced criminal-law protection, which allows for stricter sanctions and takes account of their particular vulnerability. The limitation is that international law proceeds from a broader age category of the child. As a result, law-enforcement bodies must use the general provision of Article 150 for victims aged sixteen and seventeen, although in their actual situation they may also lack sufficient maturity, information and freedom of choice.

Moreover, modern human trafficking increasingly takes place through digital channels. Recruitment may occur on social networks, through messaging applications, job advertisements, sham marriage agencies, offers of education or internship opportunities. This requires criminal law and investigative practice to be able to assess electronic evidence: correspondence, geolocation data, bank transfers, advertisements and digital profiles of intermediaries. Although these questions primarily concern criminal procedure, they directly affect the provability of the elements of the offence. The more complex the objective element, the more important the clarity of criminal-law indicators becomes.

At the same time, several issues require further clarification. First, Vietnamese legislation uses a specific threshold of sixteen years for the classification of trafficking in children under a separate article. From the viewpoint of the internal system of criminal law, this is understandable, since the Criminal Code traditionally uses the age of sixteen as an important threshold in a number of offences against minors. However, from the viewpoint of the Palermo Protocol, a child is any person under eighteen years of age. Consequently, victims between sixteen and eighteen years of age may find themselves in an intermediate position: they no longer fall under the special provision on trafficking in persons under sixteen, but under the international standard they should still enjoy enhanced protection as children.

Secondly, the category of “other inhuman purpose” requires clarification. Its open-ended character makes it possible to cover new forms of exploitation, but it may also create uncertainty for law-enforcement bodies. For stable judicial practice, it is important that legislation or guidance from the highest judicial authorities disclose the content of such purposes through their connection with the humiliation of human dignity, deprivation of liberty, forced use of a person’s labour, body, social status or dependency.

Thirdly, the Vietnamese model currently describes in less detail the role of intermediaries and persons who do not directly transfer the victim but create conditions for trafficking: locating victims, preparing false documents, arranging transport, controlling accommodation, acting as marriage or labour intermediaries, or receiving benefits from exploitation. Formally, many of these acts may be covered by complicity, preparation or specific features of the objective element. However, for investigative and qualification practice it would be useful to demonstrate more clearly that criminal liability extends to the entire criminal chain, not only to the person who directly receives money or transfers the victim.

Fourthly, victim protection requires special attention. Human trafficking often leads to a situation where the victim becomes involved in unlawful activity: illegal border crossing, use of forged documents, prostitution, or participation in the transportation of other persons under pressure from organisers. If criminal law does not distinguish between the real organiser and the victim acting under coercion, it risks secondarily victimising the victim. Therefore, criminal-law regulation must be closely linked to procedural, social and administrative mechanisms for the identification, support and protection of victims.

3.3. English Law: The Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the Contemporary Model for Combating Human Trafficking

In England and Wales, the key statute in the field of combating modern slavery and human trafficking is the Modern Slavery Act 2015. This Act consolidated and updated a number of provisions on slavery, servitude, forced labour and human trafficking. Its significance lies not only in strengthening criminal liability, but also in forming a more integrated approach that combines criminalisation, prosecution of organisers, victim protection and preventive measures, including corporate obligations relating to transparency in supply chains.

For the purposes of this study, section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which concerns human trafficking, is of particular importance. The offence is constructed around arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploitation. Travel is understood not only as crossing a state border, but as any movement, including movement within the country. A person may arrange or facilitate travel by recruiting, transporting, transferring, harbouring or receiving the victim, or by transferring or exchanging control over the victim. An important feature is that the victim’s consent to the travel is not decisive for legal classification. If a person is moved for the purpose of exploitation, external consent does not remove the social danger of the act, since such consent is often obtained under conditions of deception, dependency, fear or economic vulnerability.

The English model makes the purpose of exploitation the central element. The law proceeds from the idea that human trafficking is not necessarily a transaction, but the organisation of a process leading to exploitation. This approach makes it possible to cover cases in which the victim outwardly voluntarily accepts an offer of work, travel or accommodation but in fact comes under the control of other persons. It also allows the crime to be prevented at an early stage, where exploitation has not yet occurred but the purpose of achieving it has already been proved.

The subjective element in English law is also characterised by flexibility. Liability is possible not only where a person directly intends to exploit the victim, but also where the person knows or ought to know that another person is likely to be exploited. This construction is of great importance in combating organised criminal networks. In real trafficking schemes, individual participants often attempt to present themselves as neutral intermediaries: drivers, agents, advisers, landlords or interpreters. If the law requires proof only of direct intent to exploit, many such persons may avoid liability. The English approach makes it possible to take into account the conscious disregard of obvious signs of exploitation.

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 also includes provisions on victim protection. Section 45 is of particular interest, as it provides protection for victims of slavery or human trafficking who have committed certain offences as a result of compulsion or as a consequence of their victim status. This protection is not unconditional and does not extend to all offences. However, the idea itself is of fundamental importance: criminal law recognises that a victim of human trafficking may be used by criminals as an instrument for committing other acts and therefore should not always be treated as a fully responsible offender. This approach corresponds to the contemporary concept of victim-centred justice, which is aimed at preventing secondary victimisation.

It is also important that the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is not limited to traditional notions of the physical confinement of the victim. In modern practice, control may be exercised psychologically, economically and administratively: through the confiscation of documents, threats of deportation, debt dependency, isolation from family, lack of language knowledge, fear of the police, manipulation of migrant status or threats against relatives. English law therefore proceeds from a functional understanding of exploitation: decisive importance belongs not only to the form of influence, but also to the real position of the victim and the victim’s inability freely to leave the exploitative situation.

Another feature of the English approach is the close connection between criminal prosecution and guidance issued by prosecutorial authorities. In human trafficking cases, statutory provisions are important, but so are practical criteria for decision-making: when to initiate a case, how to assess the testimony of traumatised victims, how to distinguish a victim from an accomplice, and how to use special witness-protection measures. This element is of interest for Vietnam, since unified investigative and judicial practice often depends precisely on the quality of guidance and inter-agency instructions.

The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is traditionally lower than in many continental legal systems. Persons who have reached the age of ten may, in principle, bear criminal responsibility, although minors are dealt with under special youth-justice procedures. In the context of human trafficking, this means that an adolescent who actively participates in a criminal network may be held liable. At the same time, however, the law and prosecutorial practice must assess whether such an adolescent is also a victim of coercion, exploitation or criminal control. It is here that the English model demonstrates a difficult balance between punishment, prevention and protection.

English law is of interest to Vietnam not because of the severity of sanctions as such, but because of the legal technique used to describe the offence. The key advantages include: a broad understanding of travel and facilitation of travel; the absence of decisive legal significance of the victim’s consent; an emphasis on the purpose of exploitation; the ability to cover intermediaries and other participants in the criminal chain; and special mechanisms to protect victims who have been involved in criminal activity under coercion. These elements do not require mechanical transplantation, but they may serve as reference points for refining Vietnamese norms.

3.4. Comparative Analysis of the Elements of the Offence

A comparison of the Vietnamese and English approaches shows that both legal systems recognise human trafficking as a serious crime against the person and provide for strict liability measures. Both proceed from the need to protect victims from sexual exploitation, forced labour, organ removal and other forms of inhuman treatment. Both permit punishment before actual exploitation occurs, provided that actions aimed at achieving it have already been carried out. However, the differences appear in the legal construction of the offence and in the emphases of criminal policy.

From the standpoint of the protected legal interest, Vietnamese law traditionally links human trafficking with infringement of personal freedom, honour and dignity, as well as social relations that ensure personal security. English law, using the category of modern slavery, more broadly emphasises the connection between human trafficking and slavery, servitude, forced labour and exploitation. In practical terms, the English model more clearly demonstrates that the main harm lies not only in transferring a person, but also in establishing control over that person for the purpose of exploitation.

The most significant difference concerns the objective element. The Vietnamese norm lists transfer, receipt, recruitment, transportation and harbouring, but in law-enforcement perception the element of transferring or receiving a person for material benefit or exploitation remains important. The English norm, by contrast, places the arrangement or facilitation of travel at the centre. This makes it possible to cover situations where there is no obvious transaction or direct payment, but there is a criminal scheme leading to exploitation.

The problem of the victim’s consent is also addressed differently. Under the international and English approaches, consent has no legal significance if prohibited means of influence have been used or if the case concerns a child. In Vietnamese law, this principle is present through the construction of deception, coercion, threat and other methods, but it requires clearer legislative consolidation and interpretation. Practice shows that victims of human trafficking often outwardly agree to travel, work or marriage without understanding the real nature of the future exploitation. Therefore, legal classification should not depend on formal consent if it was conditioned by deception, need, dependency, psychological pressure or abuse of a vulnerable situation.

The subjective element in Vietnamese law is expressed through intentional guilt and a special purpose: obtaining material benefit, sexual exploitation, forced labour, organ removal or another inhuman purpose. This construction ensures the certainty of the offence, but it may create difficulties where criminals distribute roles in such a way that individual participants do not possess complete information about subsequent exploitation. English law uses the more flexible criterion of knowledge or having grounds to know of likely exploitation. This construction makes it possible to prosecute persons who consciously participate in suspicious schemes and benefit from them, even though they formally deny direct intent.

The boundaries of the criminal liability of intermediaries are particularly complex. If an intermediary merely provides an ordinary service and does not know of the criminal purpose, liability is impermissible. But if the person regularly takes part in suspicious transport, receives remuneration above the ordinary level, avoids the preparation of documents, gives victims false instructions, communicates with organisers and ignores obvious signs of exploitation, that person’s role can no longer be regarded as neutral. The English approach allows such indicators to be taken into account as evidence of knowledge or conscious indifference to exploitation.

The comparison of the subjects of the offence also reveals differences. Vietnamese law connects criminal liability with general rules on age and sanity. Persons aged from fourteen to sixteen may bear liability only for certain serious and especially serious crimes, including offences specified by law. English law establishes a lower general age of criminal responsibility, which expands the possibilities for responding to the involvement of minors in criminal networks, but at the same time creates a risk of criminalising children who are themselves victims. Consequently, the English experience should not be viewed as a basis for mechanically lowering the age of responsibility in Vietnam. A more promising direction is the development of special measures of influence and protection for minors who participate in the criminal chain under adult control.

The system of penalties in both legal systems reflects the high social danger of human trafficking. In Vietnam, sanctions provide for long terms of imprisonment and, in the presence of aggravating elements, even life imprisonment. In England, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 also provides for severe penalties, including the possibility of life imprisonment for the most dangerous forms. However, the effectiveness of criminal policy is determined not only by the maximum severity of punishment. No less important are the inevitability of liability, the capacity to identify criminal networks, confiscation of criminal proceeds, victim protection, international cooperation and victims’ access to legal and social assistance.

The comparison also shows the difference between the formal severity of punishment and practical effectiveness. Severe sanctions are important for general prevention, but in human trafficking cases trust between victims and state authorities, witness protection and the ability to investigate financial links are equally important. If a victim fears deportation, retaliation, stigmatisation or criminal liability for related acts, the victim may refuse to cooperate. Therefore, criminal prosecution must be combined with guarantees of safety and social support.

Victim protection deserves separate attention. Vietnamese legislation on the prevention and combat of human trafficking provides measures for receiving, verifying, identifying, supporting and protecting victims. This is an important step toward a comprehensive approach. The English experience shows that victim protection should also be built into the criminal-law mechanism: when assessing the conduct of a person who has committed an offence, it is necessary to consider whether that person acted under compulsion or as a result of exploitation. For Vietnam, it may be useful to develop special guidance on non-prosecution or exemption from liability for persons who have committed minor or related offences because they were themselves victims of human trafficking.

3.5. Main Problems of Vietnamese Legislation and Law Enforcement

The first problem concerns the alignment of national child protection with the international standard. Vietnamese law provides special protection for persons under sixteen years of age, whereas the Palermo Protocol uses the age of eighteen. This does not mean that persons aged sixteen and seventeen are completely deprived of protection in Vietnam: they may be victims under Article 150, and minority may be taken into account in assessing the social danger of the act. Nevertheless, the absence of a special construction for all children under eighteen may create inconsistency with the international approach. In child trafficking cases, it is essential that violence, deception or other means of influence should not have to be proved if the fact of actions for the purpose of exploitation is established.

The second problem concerns the content of exploitation. The Vietnamese norm already includes sexual exploitation, forced labour, organ removal and other inhuman purposes. However, modern forms of exploitation are constantly changing. They may include compelled criminality, online sexual exploitation, control through debt dependency, forced begging, use in fraudulent call-centres, exploitation in illegal gambling and other transnational schemes. The broader and more complex these forms become, the more important it is for law-enforcement bodies to have clear criteria for their criminal-law assessment.

The third problem is related to proving purpose. Direct evidence of the purpose of exploitation is not always present in human trafficking offences. Criminals rarely record their intentions in documents or correspondence in an obvious form. Therefore, purpose must be proved by a combination of circumstances: the nature of the proposed work, the conditions of transport, confiscation of documents, restriction of freedom of movement, debt obligations, threats, the victim’s dependent position, distribution of profits, repetition of actions and connections between members of the group. In this regard, the English criterion of “knew or ought to have known” may serve as a useful reference point for assessing the behaviour of intermediaries.

The fourth problem lies in distinguishing the roles of participants. Human trafficking rarely involves a single perpetrator. Usually, there is a chain: a recruiter, a transporter, an intermediary, a person receiving the victim, a person controlling documents, a person arranging accommodation, a person receiving profit, and a person using violence or threats. If the law and practice focus excessively on the main organiser or the direct buyer, there is a risk of underestimating the role of other participants. Conversely, the overly broad prosecution of all persons without analysing their awareness may violate the principle of individualised liability. It is therefore necessary to combine a broad understanding of the criminal chain with a careful assessment of each person’s guilt.

The fifth problem concerns victims who have themselves committed unlawful acts. For example, a victim of human trafficking may transport other victims, pass on messages from organisers, use forged documents or perform unlawful work under threat of violence. In such cases, formally prosecuting the person without taking account of victim status would contradict the goals of combating human trafficking. Vietnamese law already contains general provisions on necessity, coercion, insanity, mitigating circumstances and exemption from liability. However, for human trafficking it is desirable to have more specialised approaches that allow investigators, prosecutors and courts to identify victims in a timely manner and not confuse them with the organisers of the crime.

The sixth problem is institutional. Effective combat against human trafficking is impossible through criminal law alone. It requires coordination among the police, prosecution service, courts, border authorities, social-protection agencies, diplomatic missions, educational institutions, non-governmental organisations and international partners. Even a well-drafted criminal-law norm will be ineffective if victims are afraid to seek help, do not trust the authorities, and do not receive an interpreter, psychologist, temporary accommodation and protection from retaliation by criminals. Therefore, criminal-law reforms must be accompanied by the development of mechanisms for identifying and supporting victims.

3.6. Directions for Improving Vietnamese Legislation in Light of the English Experience

The first direction is to clarify the protection of victims aged from sixteen to eighteen. The Vietnamese legislator should consider more complete harmonisation of criminal-law protection of children with the international standard, under which a child is a person under eighteen years of age. This may be achieved in different ways: by extending the special norm on trafficking in minors to persons under eighteen; by introducing an aggravating element in Article 150 for victims aged sixteen and seventeen; or by clarifying that, in cases of trafficking of such persons, the same means of influence as in the trafficking of adults should not have to be proved if the purpose of exploitation is established. The most systematic option would be the gradual extension of special protection to all minor victims.

The second direction concerns legislative or judicial clarification of the concept of exploitation. It should be established that exploitation covers not only sexual exploitation, forced labour and organ removal, but also slavery and practices similar to slavery, servitude, forced begging, compulsion to commit crimes, debt bondage, the use of a person in conditions of actual deprivation of liberty, digital forms of sexual exploitation and other forms of gaining benefit through control over a person. Such clarification should not turn the norm into a closed list, because criminality develops faster than legislation. However, it should provide law-enforcement bodies with reference points for qualification.

The third direction is clearer regulation of the significance of the victim’s consent. The law or judicial guidance should expressly state that the victim’s consent to travel, employment, marriage, residence or work does not exclude the offence of human trafficking if it was obtained by deception, threat, abuse of dependency or vulnerable position, or if the victim is a child. This is especially important in cases involving labour migration and marriage intermediaries, where apparent voluntariness is often used as a defence strategy.

The fourth direction is the expansion and specification of the liability of intermediaries. In light of the English experience, it would be useful to emphasise that criminally punishable conduct includes not only the direct transfer or receipt of the victim, but also organising, securing, financing, facilitating movement, harbouring or control over the victim, where the person knows or should understand that the actions are carried out for the purpose of exploitation. At the same time, the formula “should understand” must be applied carefully so that it does not replace guilt with objective imputation. It may be clarified through criteria such as the obviousness of signs of exploitation, the professional role of the intermediary, repetition of actions, the nature of the benefit obtained and the connection with organisers.

The fifth direction is the development of special rules concerning victims who have committed offences under coercion. Vietnam may use the English approach to victim protection not by directly copying section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act, but by adopting national guidance on legal classification and exemption from liability. It should be provided that a person who committed a less serious related act because the person was a victim of human trafficking is subject to special assessment. In such cases, it is necessary first to establish the degree of coercion, age, dependency, threats, duration of exploitation, real possibility of refusal and the nature of the act committed. This approach would prevent secondary victimisation without creating immunity for serious crimes.

The sixth direction is the strengthening of confiscation and compensation mechanisms. Human trafficking is a highly profitable crime. Therefore, imprisonment of organisers should be combined with the identification, seizure and confiscation of criminal proceeds, as well as compensation for victims. English practice demonstrates the importance of financial investigation and property measures. For Vietnam, it is important to develop inter-agency interaction between criminal prosecution and financial control so that criminals do not retain economic benefit even after individual perpetrators have been convicted.

The seventh direction is improving the quality of inter-agency coordination. Legislative amendments should be accompanied by practical protocols: how to identify a victim, how to conduct questioning without causing trauma, when to appoint an interpreter and psychologist, how to ensure the victim’s safety, how to cooperate with foreign authorities, and how to repatriate citizens who have suffered abroad. Without such procedures, even the most progressive criminal-law norm will be unable to ensure effective human-rights protection.

The eighth direction is the development of prevention. Human trafficking is fuelled not only by criminal demand, but also by social vulnerability: poverty, lack of information, inequality, migration dependency, gender-based violence, family conflict and debt obligations. Criminal law must therefore be the last, but not the only, instrument. Preventive programmes in schools, rural areas, among migrants, workers of intermediary agencies and persons seeking work abroad are no less important than increasing penalties.

Alongside legislative amendments, judicial practice must also be developed. Supreme judicial authorities may prepare additional guidance on which circumstances indicate exploitation, how to assess the victim’s consent, how to classify the actions of intermediaries, how to apply provisions on complicity, and how to take account of victim status when related offences are committed. Such guidance would help avoid both unjustified narrowing of the offence and excessive expansion of criminal liability.

Finally, international cooperation should be strengthened. Human trafficking is rarely confined to the territory of a single state. For Vietnam, mechanisms for information exchange, joint investigations, return of victims, legal assistance, extradition and cooperation with destination states are important. The English experience shows that combating human trafficking requires not only national criminalisation, but also the capacity to prosecute criminal networks operating across borders and exploiting differences between legal systems.

4. Conclusion

The comparative analysis shows that Vietnamese and English criminal law share the common goal of protecting individuals from exploitation and recognising human trafficking as a serious crime. However, the two systems differ in legal technique. Vietnamese law remains closely linked to the idea of transferring or receiving a person, while English law under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 focuses more broadly on arranging or facilitating a person’s travel for exploitation. This allows English law to address intermediaries, early stages of trafficking and situations where exploitation is disguised as voluntary relationships.

For Vietnam, the English experience should not be mechanically borrowed, but may provide useful legal solutions. These include a broader understanding of exploitation, reduced reliance on the victim’s formal consent, clearer liability for intermediaries, special protection for victims who commit offences under coercion, and stronger links between prosecution and victim protection.

Vietnamese legislation should therefore be improved by adapting international and comparative standards to national conditions. Priority should be given to protecting all victims under eighteen, clarifying the concept of exploitation, regulating the role of consent, individualising the liability of participants in trafficking networks, strengthening victim-protection mechanisms and targeting criminal proceeds. Effective prevention of human trafficking requires not only punishment, but also financial investigation, international cooperation, social support and long-term prevention.

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