Appraising the Frontiers and Limits of the Inter-American Human Rights System and Its Relevance to International Human Rights Law

Abstract

The Inter-American human rights system is one of the major regional human rights systems globally. In spite of the availability of human rights instruments in the region, some of which are legally binding, the spate of human rights abuse still leaves a sad commentary. The objective of this paper therefore is to take a critical survey of the human rights instruments in the region with a view to assessing their strengths and constraints. The method of research is basically doctrinal and utilizes the major human rights instruments in the region such as the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS), the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of man, and the American Convention on Human Rights in its evaluation. It is the finding of the paper that the Inter-American system indeed has a number of positive features such as the emphasis placed on democratic governance and third party interventions in the adjudicatory process among others. The paper has also identified a number of weaknesses in the system including that the Inter-American Commission lacks the power to refer a case to the Inter-American Court where the State concerned has not ratified the American Convention on Human Rights; and further, the Commission’s recommendations are not legally binding. Therefore, the paper recommended among other things that the Commission be able to transmit a case directly to the Court whether or not the party concerned has ratified the American Convention.