Global Rights Compliance has submitted a detailed letter to the European Commission providing guidance on the application of evidentiary standards, thresholds and procedures under the European Forced Labour Regulation (EUFLR), ahead of the Commission’s forthcoming publication of accompanying guidelines.
The letter, penned by Wayne Jordash KC, President of Global Rights Compliance, draws on decades of experience in international criminal law, international human rights law and forced labour investigations, to support the Commission in the complex and critical task of operationalising the EUFLR in a manner that is effective, fair and consistent.
Background:
The EUFLR has the potential to play a transformative role in preventing products made with forced labour from entering or exiting European markets. However, the letter emphasises that the Regulation’s success will largely depend on its implementation in practice. As a self-contained and novel regulatory framework, the EUFLR raises a range of procedural, evidentiary, and adjudicative challenges that require clear, codified guidance to avoid fragmentation, legal uncertainty, and inconsistent enforcement.
The submission highlights several areas where greater procedural clarity is required, including the application of evidentiary standards and thresholds, the provision of due process safeguards for economic operators, and the protection and support of victims and witnesses. It also addresses the assessment of circumstantial evidence in high-risk, opaque contexts and considers the role of rebuttable presumptions in enabling effective investigations while safeguarding fairness.
The letter is accompanied by a detailed legal analysis and builds on discussions held during an expert roundtable convened by Global Rights Compliance, which brought together forced labour investigators, legal practitioners, academics, corporate accountability specialists and regulatory representatives to examine evidentiary challenges under the EUFLR.
Global Rights Compliance remains available to engage with the European Commission and provide further support in the development of the forthcoming guidance, ahead of the EUFLR’s entry into force.
Read the full letter here.