Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199580958
- eISBN:
- 9780191728785
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199580958.003.0011
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
International human rights tribunals, such as the Inter-American and the European Courts of Human Rights, have in recent years been engaged in overcoming obstacles to the individual's direct access ...
More
International human rights tribunals, such as the Inter-American and the European Courts of Human Rights, have in recent years been engaged in overcoming obstacles to the individual's direct access to justice. On three recent occasions, for example, the Inter-American Court has pronounced on the incompatibility of self-amnesties with the relevant provisions of the American Convention on Human Rights.This evolution has disclosed both an institutional and a jurisprudential dimension. The former is materialized in the presence and participation of the victims in all stages of the international legal procedure. The second has recently culminated in holdings of the Inter-American Court to the effect that the right of access to justice has nowadays entered the domain of jus cogens.Less
International human rights tribunals, such as the Inter-American and the European Courts of Human Rights, have in recent years been engaged in overcoming obstacles to the individual's direct access to justice. On three recent occasions, for example, the Inter-American Court has pronounced on the incompatibility of self-amnesties with the relevant provisions of the American Convention on Human Rights.This evolution has disclosed both an institutional and a jurisprudential dimension. The former is materialized in the presence and participation of the victims in all stages of the international legal procedure. The second has recently culminated in holdings of the Inter-American Court to the effect that the right of access to justice has nowadays entered the domain of jus cogens.
Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199580958
- eISBN:
- 9780191728785
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199580958.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
The right of access to justice, at national and international levels, is a fundamental cornerstone of the protection of human rights. It conforms a true right to the Law. Such right, lato sensu, ...
More
The right of access to justice, at national and international levels, is a fundamental cornerstone of the protection of human rights. It conforms a true right to the Law. Such right, lato sensu, amounts to the right to the realization of justice. In such understanding, it comprises not only the formal access to a tribunal or judge, but also respect for the guarantees of due process of law, the right to a fair trial, and to reparations (whenever they are due), and the faithful execution of judgments. The right to an effective domestic remedy is a basic pillar of the rule of law in a democratic society. In its turn, the right of international individual petition, and the safeguard of the integrity of international jurisdiction, are the basic foundations of the emancipation of the individual vis-à-vis his own State.This is a domain that has undergone a remarkable development in recent years. The very notion of “victim” has been the subject of a considerable international case-law. The direct access of victims to international justice has been taking place in the most diverse circumstances, including situations of great adversity, or even defencelessness, of the complainants (e.g., abandoned or “street children”, undocumented migrants, members of peace communities in situations of armed conflict, internally displaced persons, individuals in infra-human conditions of detention, surviving victims of massacres). It is submitted that the right of access to justice belongs today to the domain of jus cogens. Without it, there is no legal system at all. The protection of the human person in the most adverse circumstances has evolved amongst considerations of international ordre public. Such recent evolution has been contributing to the gradual expansion of the material content of jus cogens.Less
The right of access to justice, at national and international levels, is a fundamental cornerstone of the protection of human rights. It conforms a true right to the Law. Such right, lato sensu, amounts to the right to the realization of justice. In such understanding, it comprises not only the formal access to a tribunal or judge, but also respect for the guarantees of due process of law, the right to a fair trial, and to reparations (whenever they are due), and the faithful execution of judgments. The right to an effective domestic remedy is a basic pillar of the rule of law in a democratic society. In its turn, the right of international individual petition, and the safeguard of the integrity of international jurisdiction, are the basic foundations of the emancipation of the individual vis-à-vis his own State.This is a domain that has undergone a remarkable development in recent years. The very notion of “victim” has been the subject of a considerable international case-law. The direct access of victims to international justice has been taking place in the most diverse circumstances, including situations of great adversity, or even defencelessness, of the complainants (e.g., abandoned or “street children”, undocumented migrants, members of peace communities in situations of armed conflict, internally displaced persons, individuals in infra-human conditions of detention, surviving victims of massacres). It is submitted that the right of access to justice belongs today to the domain of jus cogens. Without it, there is no legal system at all. The protection of the human person in the most adverse circumstances has evolved amongst considerations of international ordre public. Such recent evolution has been contributing to the gradual expansion of the material content of jus cogens.
