The proof of work under conditions analogous to slavery and the place of service provision

Abstract

The Supreme Federal Court will decide, in Extraordinary Appeal n. 1.323.708, where General Repercussion has been recognized, whether proof of work under conditions analogous to slavery can be differentiated according to the place of service provision. The problem to be addressed is whether, in the absence of a specific law in the national legal system regarding this issue, international treaties on human rights and their interpretation by international courts provide elements for resolving the controversy. Therefore, the article focuses on the control of conventionality and highlights the existence of several treaties with provisions on human rights and labor relations, which, however, are still underutilized by the Judiciary, pointing out the need for a change in mindset for international legal norms to be more frequently considered by the domestic legal order. In the judgment of Extraordinary Appeal n. 1.323.708/PA, particularly aiming to prevent regression and ensure the consolidation of control of conventionality, the Supreme Federal Court can integrate international and Brazilian rights since Brazil’s legal system incorporates International Human Rights Law. Therefore, it will be possible to define the necessary elements to establish the crime of reducing someone to conditions analogous to slavery based on the local reality, as well as for the Supreme Court to indicate the essential evidence for the classification of the crime provided for in Article 149 of the Penal Code, through the implementation of the control of conventionality and in light of the principles of human dignity and social values of work.