A Consistent Treaty Interpretation by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Light of Corpus Juris

Authors

Liliana E. Popa

Abstract

International human rights courts’ use of external sources of interpretation is a key subject of disagreement for critics and opponents of these courts’ interpretative work. This Article provides a comprehensive review of cases decided by one of the most contested human rights courts: the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR). It evaluates the quality of interpretation through the prism of international courts’ duty to render consistent treaty interpretation, a topic seldom analyzed in scholarship. It explores how and to what extent the IACtHR uses external sources that are comprised in corpus juris to improve the effectiveness and consistency of its interpretation of the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR). It contends that “systemic integration” is a major interpretative tool through which the IACtHR provides a more logical, balanced, and consistent interpretation of the rights granted in the ACHR, including rights that are not stated but fall within its scope.

Recommended Citation

Liliana E. Popa, A Consistent Treaty Interpretation by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Light of Corpus Juris, 52 Denv. J. Int'l L. & Pol'y 207 (Spring 2024).