The American Convention on Human Rights: A Commentary (Oxford Commentaries on International Law)

The American Convention on Human Rights, adopted within the framework of the Organization of American States, is the central and essential instrument of the inter-American human rights law as elaborated by the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights. This treaty, adopted on November 22, 1969, with twenty-three States Parties, contains eighty-two articles that set out the rights and freedoms that States undertake to respect and protect, and establishes various protection mechanisms, including an individual complaints mechanism. However, the American Convention is much more than an international treaty. The Convention is a complex instrument, which was born in a particular context, and which reflects the inter-American human rights particularism. Of course, it is a political instrument, which was adopted in the difficult context of the revolutionary fever of the late 1960s. It is also, and above all, an instrument of progress and justice, with an unequivocal purpose of emancipation of humankind. The Convention is finally a formidable legal instrument. This treaty, as interpreted and applied by the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights, has become the legal basis of a creative, sophisticated, and protective inter-American legal regime of human rights. This inter-American human rights law, whether it embodies the hope of access to justice and equality for some, to truth for others, or to the protection of the most vulnerable, is also, for the lawyer, a paradigm for what is and what must be public international law centered on humanist and progressive values. "The American Convention on Human Rights, adopted within the framework of the Organization of American States, is the central and essential instrument of the inter-American human rights law as elaborated by the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights. This treaty, adopted on November 22, 1969, with now 23 States Parties, contains 82 articles that set out the rights and freedoms that States undertake to respect and protect, and establishes various protection mechanisms, including an individual complaints mechanism. This book offers a critical, systematic and exegetical commentary of the 82 Articles of this Convention, reflecting on the construction, often creative and avant-garde, of the inter-American human rights bodies. Doctrinal, critical and jurisprudential, this book is the fruit of reflections and research carried out by the two authors, and of a symbiotic writing. The American Convention on Human Rights is much more than just a treaty of international law. The Convention is a complex instrument, which was born in a particular context, and which reflects the inter-American human rights particularism. Of course, it is a political instrument, which was thought in the difficult context of the revolutionary fever of the late 1950s. But it is also, and above all, an instrument of progress and justice that is in line with the current of humanist thought of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the projects for the emancipation of the humankind. It is also a formidable legal instrument with exceptional normative power and potential. This treaty, as interpreted and applied by the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights, has become the founding norm of a creative, sophisticated and protective inter-American legal regime for the protection of human rights, thanks to audacious and intelligent hermeneutic work, led in particular by the Inter-American Court. The persuasive force of inter-American jurisprudence attests to its argumentative quality. This Inter-American human rights law, if it embodies the hope of access to justice for some, to truth for others, or to the protection of the most vulnerable, is also, for the internationalist lawyer, a paradigm of reference for what is and what must be public international law centered on humanist and progressive values"-- Sommario fornito dall'editore "The American Convention on Human Rights, adopted within the framework of the Organization of American States, is the central and essential instrument of the inter-American human rights law as elaborated by the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights. This treaty, adopted on November 22, 1969, with now 23 States Parties, contains 82 articles that set out the rights and freedoms that States undertake to respect and protect, and establishes various protection mechanisms, including an individual complaints mechanism. This book offers a critical, systematic and exegetical commentary of the 82 Articles of this Convention, reflecting on the construction, often creative and avant-garde, of the inter-American human rights bodies. Doctrinal, critical and jurisprudential, this book is the fruit of reflections and research carried out by the two authors, and of a symbiotic writing. The American Convention on Human Rights is much more than just a treaty of international law. The Convention is a complex instrument, which was born in a particular context, and which reflects the inter-American human rights particularism. Of course, it is a political instrument, which was thought in the difficult context of the revolutionary fever of the late 1950s. But it is also, and above all, an instrument of progress and justice that is in line with the current of humanist thought of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the projects for the emancipation of the humankind. It is also a formidable legal instrument with exceptional normative power and potential. This treaty, as interpreted and applied by the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights, has become the founding norm of a creative, sophisticated and protective inter-American legal regime for the protection of human rights, thanks to audacious and intelligent hermeneutic work, led in particular by the Inter-American Court. The persuasive force of inter-American jurisprudence attests to its argumentative quality. This Inter-American human rights law, if it embodies the hope of access to justice for some, to truth for others, or to the protection of the most vulnerable, is also, for the internationalist lawyer, a paradigm of reference for what is and what must be public international law centered on humanist and progressive values"-- Provided by publisher Dedication Preface • Judge Elizabeth Odio Benito Foreword Acknowledgments Reader’s Note Contents Table of Cases Table of Treaties and Other Instruments List of Abbreviations American Convention on Human Rights Preamble PART I: STATE OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS PROTECTED I. GENERAL OBLIGATIONS II. CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS III. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND CULTURAL RIGHTS IV. SUSPENSION OF GUARANTEES, INTERPRETATION, AND APPLICATION V. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITIES PART II: MEANS OF PROTECTION VI. COMPETENT ORGANS VII. INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIII. INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS IX. COMMON PROVISIONS PART III: GENERAL AND TRANSITORY PROVISIONS X. SIGNATURE, RATIFICATION, RESERVATIONS, AMENDMENTS, PROTOCOLS, AND DENUNCIATION XI. TRANSITORY PROVISIONS Index The American Convention on Human Rights: A Commentary is the first comprehensive and systematic article-by-article commentary of the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR) in English. This book offers an exhaustive and critical analysis of each of the 82 articles of the Convention, covering the substantive elements of the rights and freedoms protected, as well as institutional and procedural aspects. Each chapter contains an introduction and a comparative perspective of the provision commented on; a review of the drafting history of the provision; and a critical commentary on the interpretation of the provision in light of the rich case-law of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.