US embassy cable - 05SANJOSE1627

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SAN JOSE 001627 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN BOYNTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, CS 
SUBJECT: PRIMER ON THE INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
REF:  SAN JOSE 1544 
 
1. Summary: This cable briefly describes the organization, 
and procedures of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 
as well as the Court's relationship to the Inter-American 
Commission on Human Rights.  Reftel describes the progress 
of an actual recent case in the court brought against 
Venezuela.  End Summary. 
 
History 
------- 
2. The Organization of American States adopted the American 
Convention on Human Rights at the Inter-American Specialized 
Conference on Human Rights in 1969.  Twenty-five nations 
have ratified the treaty to date, with the notable 
exceptions of the U.S. and Canada, and the treaty is binding 
on these nations.  The Convention created two entities to 
promote the observance and protection of human rights: the 
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the Commission) 
and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (the Court). 
The Court held its first hearing in 1979.  It is located in 
San Jose, Costa Rica.  The Court currently hears about two 
dozen cases per year. 
 
Organization 
------------ 
3. Seven judges compose the Court, and no two judges can be 
from the same nation.  Candidates to the bench are nominated 
by member States of the OAS and are elected by the General 
Assembly.  Judges on the Court must be judges in their 
respective home country and are usually recognized scholars 
in the field of human rights.  They serve a six-year term 
and may be reelected only once.  If no judge on the tribunal 
is a national of a State being accused before the Court, 
that State may appoint an ad hoc judge to join the other 
seven judges for the duration of the case.  Judges vote to 
elect a President, an honorary position entrusted to 
represent the Court and direct procedure but little else.  A 
Vice-President is also elected in the same manner.  Both the 
President and Vice-President serve for two years. 
 
The Role of the Commission 
-------------------------- 
4. Parties wanting to bring a case before the Court must 
first file a petition with the Commission alleging a 
violation of the Convention.  The Commission receives 
hundreds of petitions annually.  Petitions may be brought 
only after the parties have exhausted remedies under 
domestic law, a frequently contested fact.  Alternatively, 
parties may demonstrate that they were denied access to 
domestic remedies or that the remedies themselves provide 
inadequate due process of law. 
 
5. The Commission initially reviews the petition for 
procedural errors and, if it finds none, requests a response 
from the government allegedly responsible.  After the 
response is received, the Commission decides whether it 
considers the petitioner's claims to be valid.  Valid claims 
are investigated to verify facts, including the deposition 
of witnesses, if necessary.  The Commission then prepares a 
report of its conclusions and makes recommendations, 
including a time period, for the State to remedy the 
situation.  The report is distributed to the parties only. 
If no settlement has been reached or the State has failed to 
act within the specified time period, the Commission may 
either prepare a second, public report or take the case to 
the Court.  The State may also submit the case to the Court 
at this point. 
 
Procedure 
--------- 
6. The Court usually meets four times per year, three weeks 
at a time, to hear cases.  The Commission appears before the 
Court for every case and provides the Court with a copy of 
the report.  At the hearing, the Commission is represented 
by delegates while the victim and the State retain their own 
attorneys.  Each case is heard over two days, with 
presentation of witnesses on the first day and oral 
arguments on the second.  Both parties and the Commission 
may examine witnesses and present oral arguments, and 
written arguments are due within the month.  Decisions are 
normally issued four months after a hearing and are not 
subject to appeal, though parties may ask for a 
clarification of the judgment.  Decisions are released only 
to the parties who may or may not make them public. 
 
Judgments 
--------- 
7. While past decisions are not binding precedent, they are 
excellent indicators of how the Court will rule.  A judgment 
includes a timetable for compliance with the Court's orders. 
Time for compliance varies on a case-by-case basis, 
depending on the nature of the remedies ordered.  After the 
designated time period, the Court will issue a report on the 
State's progress.  The report indicates which orders the 
State has completed to the Court's satisfaction and which 
orders the State has yet to fulfill to comply fully with the 
judgment.  To date, States have usually complied with the 
Court's orders.  Besides the legal obligation imposed by the 
Convention, additional mechanisms reinforce conformity with 
the Court's judgments, such as diplomatic pressure and 
international public opinion. 
 
Comment 
------- 
8. The Court is a well-funded and efficient institution, 
residing in an elegant building that includes a newly 
constructed courtroom equipped with modern interpreter 
facilities.  Hearings are conducted in a professional and 
punctual manner, and the panel of international judges lends 
the proceedings an appropriate seriousness.   The Embassy 
continues to enhance our institutional relationship with the 
Court and to develop contacts among the Court's staff. 
 
9. Prepared by Political Intern Ernesto Schweikert.