AT v Dulghieru: Accounting for the Profits of Sex Trafficking

Abstract

This article explores the remedies available to victims of the international crime of trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation. In the 2009 case of AT v Dulghieru (Dulghieru), the English High Court awarded the victims of an unlawful conspiracy to traffic general, aggravated and exemplary damages. Treacy J based the exemplary award on the rationale of preventing unjust enrichment. The appropriateness of the finding of unlawful means conspiracy is considered, as are each of the damages awards. This article concludes that the prevention of unjust enrichment is an inappropriate basis for an award of exemplary damages, and argues that the better approach would be to strip a defendant's gains by the equitable remedy of account of profit. The overlap of civil remedies and the criminal law is also addressed. It is proposed that an account of profit should take priority over any criminal confiscation order as the victims have a greater entitlement to the profits than the State does.