Addressing slavery and trafficking in UK and US public procurement frameworks

Thesis

In this thesis, I undertake a doctrinal and normative analysis of public procurement policies seeking to eradicate slavery, servitude, forced labour and human trafficking (slavery and trafficking) from the supply chains of the UK and US Governments. Situated at the interface of public procurement law and human rights law, slavery and trafficking procurement policies must reconcile a diverse set of normative principles and goals in meeting the needs of stakeholders, including contracting agencies, contractors, workers in supply chains, and more remotely, taxpayers. I argue that while international human rights law does not require states to adopt slavery and trafficking procurement policies, it is desirable that the UK and US Governments do so in order to reinforce broader efforts in legislation, policy and the private sector to protect workers in supply chains from slavery and trafficking. The disadvantages of slavery and trafficking policies can be minimised through careful policy design. I then propose a theoretical framework drawing from public procurement principles (competition and fairness to contractors), public administration principles (clarity and specificity in rulemaking), and human rights principles (particularly the concept of human rights due diligence) to critically evaluate three UK and US slavery and trafficking procurement policies: contractor exclusions, contract conditions and award criteria. My analysis highlights that each policy in both jurisdictions fails to satisfy and maximise one or more of the theoretical framework’s key principles. To address this, I offer insights on how to make them more pragmatic, responsive to human rights goals and capable of effective implementation by procurement officers and contractors as part of their day-to-day procurement activities.

Authors: Buys, E

• Type of award: MPhil
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: public procurement; modern slavery; human trafficking
• Subjects: Law