We are pleased to announce the publication of an internationally significant monograph “Critical Legal Perspectives on Contemporary Slavery: On the Presence of the Past”, published by Brill in 2025, which includes a chapter co-authored by Professor Łukasz Pisarczyk from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Silesia. This is an important contribution to the global debate on contemporary forms of slavery, their causes, and legal options for counteracting them.
Volume 7 analyzes contemporary forms of slavery and legal regulations from a historical and comparative perspective, juxtaposing them with the legacy of the Atlantic slave trade. It shows that contemporary forms of exploitation, such as forced labor and human trafficking, are deeply rooted in social, economic, and racial structures shaped by centuries of enslavement.
The publication includes a general report and fifteen country reports from different regions of the world. Each chapter engages in an in-depth dialogue between past and present forms of slavery, pointing to both elements of continuity and areas where new forms of exploitation are emerging, including in global supply chains and care chains.
The volume includes a chapter by Professor Łukasz Pisarczyk from the University of Silesia and Professor Dagmara Skupień from the University of Łódź. The chapter “Preventing and Combating Modern Forms of Slavery in Poland: Historical Background and Current Challenges” presents an in-depth analysis of the Polish context, from historical conditions to contemporary challenges such as the precariousness of employment, the abuse of civil law contracts, the exploitation of migrants, and human trafficking.
It is one of the most comprehensive studies on contemporary forms of slavery in Poland prepared by a researcher from the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Silesia, which is part of the international discourse on combating forced labor and exploitation of workers.