International anti-human trafficking regulations and their implementation in Russian legislation

The study discusses international treaty mechanisms to combat human trafficking and their implementation procedure in Russian legislation. The emphasis is placed on the evolution of counter-trafficking both at the universal (under the auspices of the UN) and regional (Council of Europe, CIS) levels. The author examines the previous and current wording of Article 127.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and carries out a comparative analysis of the provisions of the Palermo Protocol. The author concludes that although criminal law generally criminalizes human trafficking and thereby meets international standards, the Russian Federation has not fully implemented the Palermo Protocol. In particular, there is no special law on the protection of human trafficking victims which provides guarantees to receive free assistance and be protected against criminal prosecution and deportation. Similarly, the CIS agreements, model laws on victim protection, and model anti-trafficking laws have not been incorporated by the Russian Federation.