23 Jan High Court Orders UAE to Pay over £260,000 in Groundbreaking Modern Slavery Case

22 January 2026

Our client, a Filipino domestic worker subjected to modern slavery by a diplomat in London, has secured a landmark judgment against the United Arab Emirates. This is believed to be the first time a court has awarded compensation against a foreign state liable for domestic servitude committed by one of its diplomats on UK soil.

She began working for the diplomat and his family in the UAE in 2012. The following year, she was brought to their London residence provided by the UAE where she was falsely imprisoned for 89 days in conditions Mr Justice Lavender characterized as modern slavery.

The Judgment

After escaping in May 2013, our client was recognized as a trafficking victim by the Home Office in November 2014. The UAE declined to participate in the legal proceedings.

Mr Justice Lavender awarded £262,292 in total damages, including compensation for false imprisonment, injury to feelings, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The judgment included exemplary damages reflecting the cynical disregard for our client’s rights and exploitation of her for financial gain.

Significance

Partner Zubier Yazdani commented: “This is a welcome decision. It goes some way to providing accountability for the harm that my client suffered. Domestic workers in diplomatic households have been vulnerable to abuse for too long. Sending states should share responsibility where their diplomats exploit domestic workers.”

Accountability for abuses suffered by migrant domestic workers in diplomatic households has been hard fought and difficult to achieve over the years. NGOs such as Kanlugan and Kalayaan who assisted COL soon after her escape provide an invaluable service to such people, informing them of their rights to seek legal redress.

Zubier Yazdani, partner, was instructed by COL and assisted by David Garrick of Deighton Pierce Glynn. They instructed James Robottom of Matrix Chambers. A link to the judgment and order can be found here and a link to the Guardian article here.

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