Written by: Cheyenne Johnson
At the Center for Global Justice, student staff are researching a companion Judicial Bench Book on labor trafficking in Uganda, building on the 2022 Trafficking in Persons Bench Book for the Ugandan judiciary. Our project examines how Uganda’s Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act applies to labor exploitation, drawing on statutes, Ugandan case law, comparative materials, and patterns of exploitation affecting vulnerable workers.
Tina Armstrong, a 2L at Regent Law and one of the student researchers, captured what the experience has meant for her: “The Center for Global Justice has changed the way I view the law through international legal research. By researching labor trafficking laws in Uganda, I have gained a deeper understanding of the similarities and differences between legal systems and how countries rely on precedents and statutes from other jurisdictions.”
Tina Armstrong, Center Student Staff
Tina’s reflection points to a larger truth, that international legal research requires more than learning black-letter rules. It demands attention to how statutes operate in practice and how evidence of exploitation is gathered and presented. Labor trafficking cases often turn on subtle distinctions between voluntary work and forced labor, or between ordinary employment disputes and the use of force, fraud, or coercion.
This project has changed my understanding of the law in two ways. First, labor trafficking was an area I had not studied closely. The factual patterns, the role of vulnerability, and the evidentiary issues differ substantially from the sex-trafficking matters I have seen under U.S. law. Second, the research lay almost entirely outside the American legal system. Working with Ugandan statutes, cases, and comparative materials has shown me how other jurisdictions structure the offense and treat consent.
The Center continues to shape my future career by strengthening the research and writing skills I will use after law school. Leading this project has required me to organize complex comparative materials, give clear direction to teammates, synthesize feedback, and produce a finished bench book. It has also reinforced my conviction that legal training is a gift meant to be used in service of others.
This post was written by a Center for Global Justice Intern. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.