LibGuides: Public International Law Research: Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Inter-American Court of Human Rights

General Overview

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (the "I/A Court") entered into force in 1978 as one of two organizations created by the American Convention on Human Rights. Currently, 25 members of the Organization of American States have ratified the American Convention on Human Rights (the "Convention") and recognized the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is currently headquartered in San Jose, Costa Rica. The Statute of the I/A Court outlines the court's structure, organization, workings, and relationships with governments and organizations. The following is a brief summary of the court's jurisdiction, as outlined in the Convention:

Adjudicatory Jurisdiction	Under Articles 62 and 63 of the Convention, the I/A Court has jurisdiction over all cases concerning the interpretation and application of the provisions of the Convention, provided that States Parties to the case have recognized such jurisdiction.
Advisory Jurisdiction	Under Article 64 of the Convention, the I/A Court may also advise member states regarding the interpretation of the Convention and any other relevant treaties concerning the protection of human rights in the American states. The Court may also, at the request of a member state, provide that state with an opinion regarding the compatibility of any domestic laws with the Convention.

Note: While the United States signed the Convention in 1977, it never ratified the agreement and is not currently subject to the jurisdiction of the court. Venezuela originally ratified the Convention in 1977, but it repudiated its ratification in 2012. You can see a full listing of all OAS member states and their respective ratification dates of the Convention on this interactive map.

Background & Composition of the I/A Court

If you would like to learn more about the history of the I/A Court, how parties move through the process of filing a petition, or the current composition of the I/A Court, the following pages will be of interest:

History of the I/A Court
Composition of the I/A Court (in Spanish)
General FAQ of the I/A Court (opens as a PDF)

Online IACHR Primary Materials

Online I/A Court Primary Materials

Instruments of the OAS and I/A Court

The following collection provides online access to the foundational documents of the Organization of American States and its subsidiary organs, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. This collection also provides access to other related conventions, including those dedicated to the protection of the rights of women, children, and indigenous peoples.

Rules & Procedures of the I/A Court

The following collection contains the main legal tools that govern the rules and procedures of the I/A Court. These materials include the rules of court, practice directions, and the underlying foundation documents for the court:

If you are interested in viewing the I/A Statute, which outlines the general organization of the court, please visit this link.

Cases & Related Materials

Past jurisprudence from the I/A Court can be located in a variety ways on the main I/A Court website. The Jurisprudence Finder page allows you to search by keyword, type of case, country involved, and date. There are also options to view a chronological list of cases by type of case:

The I/A Court also provides access to some of the underlying briefs for specific cases, which can be viewed at this link. Finally, if you are comfortable reading materials in Spanish, you can also access the I/A Court Digest, which provides summaries of cases and serves as another means for searching through I/A Court jurisprudence.

Secondary Sources

The Organization of American States As the Advocate and Guardian of Democracy by Rubén M. Perina
ISBN: 0761866442
Publication Date: 2015-09-25
As democracy has become the preferred system of government in the hemisphere in the past thirty years or so, its promotion and defense have also become the cornerstone and raison d etre of the Organization of American States (OAS) the central and principal inter-governmental institution in the Western Hemisphere. Perina s book presents a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of its new role in promoting and defending democracy in the Americas from an insider s perspective; examines how exactly it performs its role among its member states; points out the tensions, weaknesses and shortcomings that constrain its performance; and suggests ways of strengthening it. This unique perspective offers substantive information, insight, and theoretical and empirical analysis that provide readers with greater knowledge and understanding of the complex workings of the Organization. The book echoes the author s belief in its usefulness, relevance and potential as the most important hemispheric multilateral organization for the promotion and defense of democracy and human rights."
The Practice and Procedure of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights by Jo M. Pasqualucci
ISBN: 9781107006584
Publication Date: 2012-10-15
In a thoroughly revised second edition that incorporates the major changes made in the procedures and practice of the Inter-American Court since the original publication of this book, Jo M. Pasqualucci provides a comprehensive critique that is at once scholarly yet practical. She analyzes all aspects of the Court's advisory jurisdiction, contentious jurisdiction, and provisional measures orders through 2011. She also compares the practice and procedure of the Inter-American Court with that of the European Court of Human Rights, the Permanent Court of Justice, and the United Nations Human Rights Committee. She evaluates changes in the Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Court that entered into force on January 1, 2010, and which substantially change the role of the Inter-American Commission in contentious cases before the Court. She also evaluates the challenges and means of State compliance with the Court's innovative reparations orders. Featuring revisions to every chapter to address the numerous new judgments, provisional measures, and orders adopted by the Court, this book will provide an important and updated resource for scholars, practitioners, and students of international human rights law.
When Humans Become Migrants: Study of the European Court of Human Rights with an Inter-American Counterpoint by Marie-Bénédicte Dembour
ISBN: 9780199667833
Publication Date: 2015-05-19
Tthe treatment of migrants is one of the most challenging issues that human rights, as a political philosophy, faces today. It has increasingly become a contentious issue for many governments and international organizations around the world. The controversies surrounding immigration can leadto practices at odds with the ethical message embodied in the concept of human rights, and the notion of "migrants" as a group which should be treated in a distinct manner. This book examines the way in which two institutions tasked with ensuring the protection of human rights, the European Court ofHuman Rights and Inter-American Court of Human Rights, treat claims lodged by migrants. It combines legal, sociological, and historical analysis to show that the two courts were the product of different backgrounds, which led to differing attitudes towards migrants in their founding texts, and thatthese differences were reinforced in their developing case law.The book assesses the case law of both courts in detail to argue that they approach migrant cases from fundamentally different perspectives. It asserts that the European Court of Human Rights treats migrants first as aliens, and then, but only as a second step in its reasoning, as human beings. Bycontrast, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights approaches migrants first as human beings, and secondly as foreigners (if they are). Dembour argues therefore that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights takes a fundamentally more human rights-driven approach to this issue. The book shows howthese trends formed at the courts, and assesses whether their approaches have changed over time. It also assesses in detail the issue of the detention of irregular migrants. Ultimately it analyses whether the divergence in the case law of the two courts is likely to continue, or whether they couldpotentially adopt a more unified practice.