Lecture 4 - Regional Human Rights Systems

(F1)

What twin fears drove the European Convention System?

Authoritarianism / Nazism - Fear that these concepts could return as it did for Germany.

Communism - With the Cold War after 1945, there was pressure to stand against Communism. Human rights protection became a way to defend democracy itself, not just individuals.

(F2)

What was Teitgen's 'alarm bell' argument?

Democracies don't become dictatorships overnight.

• Freedoms are suppressed one by one until authoritarian rule is accepted.

• Europe needed international supervision (a court + monitoring system) to warn societies before reaching atrocities like Buchenwald or Dachau.

(F3)

What did Churchill argue at the Congress of Europe (1948)?

Europe shared common moral values and democratic traditions.

• Economic and military cooperation needed matching political unity and legal rights protection — even if it meant states sacrificing some sovereignty.

(F4)

Why is the ECHR described as part of a bigger post-war project, not just a rights treaty?

It fed into the Council of Europe, European political cooperation, and eventually the EU.

• Human rights protection was tied to European integration itself, not just individual protection.

(F5)

When was the ECHR signed, and when did it enter into force?

• Signed in 1950

• Entered into force in 1953 once enough states had ratified it.

(F6)

What were the 3 original European human rights institutions (pre-1998)?

1. European Commission on Human Rights (checked admissibility, tried settlements, referred serious cases up)

2. European Court of Human Rights (est. 1959, heard only selected cases)

3. Committee of Ministers (supervised state compliance with judgments).

(F7)

What were the early weaknesses of the European system?

1. States could opt out of the Court's jurisdiction;

2. Individual complaints depended on states opting in (UK didn't accept until 1966)

3. It was unclear whether the Convention applied to colonies/overseas territories.

(F8)

What does the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ label refer to?

The early system's very low success rate

• 1955–60: 710 of 713 complaints rejected;

• 1960–70: only 54 of ~3,600 applications approved.

Some scholars still argue it played a quiet diplomatic role in spreading human rights ideas.

(F9)

Why was 1998 the turning point for the ECtHR?

1. The Commission was abolished

2. The Court became permanent/full-time, and

3. Individuals gained direct access

Removing old gatekeeping layers rather than inventing new machinery.

(F10)

What changed with the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon regarding the ECHR?

It opened the possibility of the EU itself (not just individual member states) acceding to the ECHR

• Before Lisbon, EU institutions weren't directly bound even though member states were.

(F11)

Why is the European system considered the most developed regional human rights system?

Strong institutions, legally binding judgments, direct individual access, and growing political acceptance.

• It also shaped the design of the Inter-American and African systems that followed.

(F12)

How did the Inter-American system's origins differ from Europe's?

Not driven by fear of a past dictatorship returning.

• But by active military dictatorships, forced disappearances, and Cold War political violence happening in real time in the region.

(F13)

What was the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (1948)?

Adopted by the OAS

• Actually the world's first international human rights instrument, slightly before the UDHR. But non-binding, with no enforcement mechanism.

(F14)

What core tension shaped the OAS Charter (1948)?

It promoted democracy, social justice and human rights —

• But also strongly protected non-intervention/state sovereignty, reflecting the region's history of foreign intervention, colonialism, and US influence.

(F15)

What was the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (1960) like at first?

Weak

• Limited to awareness-raising, reports, and recommendations.

• It wasn't originally meant to hear individual complaints.

(F16)

What pushed the Inter-American Commission to expand its role?

The Dominican Republic Crisis

• Trujillo's possible involvement in 1959 Venezuela events drew attention to abuses.

• By 1966 the OAS formally let the Commission handle communications and complaints.

(F17)

How did 1960s–70s military dictatorships shape the Commission's work? (USA)

Coups in Brazil (1964), Argentina (1966), Chile (1973) etc. brought torture, disappearances and censorship —

• Pushing the Commission into country visits, reports, and cooperation with NGOs/churches to expose abuses.

(F18)

When was the Inter-American Court created, and how slow was its uptake?

Established in 1979 under the American Convention (1969, in force 1978).

• Only 9 states had accepted its jurisdiction by 1986, and the first case was Costa Rica bringing a case against itself.

(F19)

What is 'conventionality control'?

The principles that domestic courts and governments must ensure national law complies not just the American Convention’s (HR) text,

• But with the Inter-American Court’s interpretation of it - giving the Court major influence over domestic legal systems.

(F20)

What is the Inter-American Court known for?

Bold, progressive rulings on issues like same-sex marriage,

• environmental rights,

• Indigenous rights,

• and state accountability.

(F21)

What happened in Velásquez Rodríguez v Honduras (1988)?

The Court's first major judgment.

• It ruled Honduras violated the right to life, liberty and humane treatment over Manuel Velásquez's forced disappearance during state repression.

(F22)

Why did the Court accept the case despite the usual 'exhaust domestic remedies' rule?

Because domestic remedies in Honduras were ineffective

• State-linked disappearances made local recourse pointless.

(F23)

How did the Court handle evidence in Velásquez Rodríguez?

It accepted circumstantial evidence, presumptions, and flexible evidential standards, recognising that authoritarian regimes conceal their own abuses.

(F24)

What state obligation did Velásquez Rodríguez establish?

States must prevent, investigate, punish, and compensate human rights violations

• Including abuses only tolerated (not directly committed) by the state itself.

(F25)

Why build regional systems when global UN mechanisms already existed?

Binding global treaties (ICCPR/ICESCR) weren't in force until 1976 — regions moved first.

• Smaller, aligned blocs can agree to binding enforcement more easily than the whole UN can, and regional systems carry region-specific political purposes (e.g. Cold War signalling in Europe).

(F26)

What structural pattern do the European and Inter-American systems share?

Declaration/charter → weak advisory commission → binding convention → a court that takes years to gain real jurisdiction.

• But the driver behind the slow start differs: postwar caution + state opt-outs in Europe vs. active authoritarian resistance in the Americas.

(F27)

How did the political 'gap' between the European and Inter-American systems change over time?

Early on, the Americas dealt with severe issues (disappearances, dictatorship) while Europe debated comparatively minor cases.

• 1990s constitutionalism (post-Soviet states joining Europe, Latin American democratisation) narrowed that gap — both systems now face similar implementation struggles with newer member states.

(F28)

Why is the Inter-American Court's role now considered more contested?

It increasingly challenges established democratic governments, not just past authoritarian regimes.

• A major shift from its original role of confronting dictatorships before the 1990s.

In Europe's 1998 reform, what was gatekeeping vs. genuinely new machinery?

The Commission, Court, and Committee of Ministers all existed from the 1950s onward.

• 1998 didn't invent new bodies — it removed the layers of gatekeeping (state opt-in for individual petitions + Commission filtering) that had slowed the system down.