Enhancing Respect for Human Rights in the Americas

As an exploratory research, our paper aims to describe the role played by the Inter-American Court of human rights in standardising the interpretation of conventional human rights in the Americas. This is basic research. We use qualitative methods to understand the different ways applied by the Inter American Court to enforce not only its judgements, but the content of regional human rights instruments as well as its interpretation, over that of national tribunals. Results have implications for victims of human rights violations in the continent, since every national congress has a duty to apply and enact new legislation in order to comply with the Court’s standards. Knowing the content of the Inter American Court’s judgements is a first necessary step to apply its standards to every domestic decision.