Never before has a complete understanding of
the complex and evolving field of human rights been
so important. Currently, the Inter-American system
receives more than 1,200 petitions per year. This is
a dramatic increase from the early 1990s, when the
principal approach to human rights violations was
publicizing country reports prepared by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (
Commission). The region’s transition to democracy over the
following decade required a more formal mechanism
of semi-judicial and judicial bodies in which adjudication and legal precedent has become increasingly
important.
During its early years, the Inter-American Court
of Human Rights (Court) did not receive a single case.
That has changed dramatically. In 1986, the Court
had three trial cases in process. In 2009, this number
already exceeds 110. Over the course of its activity, the
Court has adopted critical jurisprudence on issues
such as due process, nondiscrimination, freedom
of expression, the rights of indigenous populations,
Claudio Grossman
is the dean of the
Washington College
of Law at American
University and was twice
the president of the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights.
impunity, vulnerable groups, and conditions of detention. At the same time, the Court has developed the
procedural aspects of human rights law (e.g., the
burden of proof and rights of petitioners before the
Court), thereby strengthening the legal framework
for human rights matters which, too often, have been
politicized and compromised by the application of
double standards and ideological preferences. This
“legalization” now needs to be a core element in the
education and training of future lawyers.
Human Rights
Post-World War II
The lessons learned following the human rights atrocities committed during World War II led the international community to tragically understand that
the nation-state could not be solely entrusted with
the well-being of its inhabitants. In Europe and elsewhere, including the Western Hemisphere, states had
been directly responsible for mass and gross violations of human rights. The aftermath saw the formal
