American Convention on Human Rights

 

Article 46. 1. Admission by the Commission of a petition or communication
lodged in accordance with Articles 44 or 45 shall be subject to the
following requirements:

a. That the remedies under domestic law have been pursued and exhausted
in accordance with generally recognized principles of international
law;

b. That the petition or communication is lodged within a period of six
months from the date on which the party alleging violation of his
rights was notified of the final judgment;

c. That the subject of the petition or communication is not pending in
another international proceeding for settlement; and

d. That, in the case of Article 44, the petition contains the name,
nationality, profession, domicile, and signature of the person or
persons or of the legal representative of the entity lodging the
petition.

2. The provisions of paragraphs 1a and 1b of this article shall not be
applicable when:

a. The domestic legislation of the state concerned does not afford due
process of law for the protection of the right or rights that have
allegedly been violated;

b. The party alleging violation of his rights has been denied access to
the remedies under domestic law or has been prevented from exhausting
them; or

c. There has been unwarranted delay in rendering a final judgment under
the aforementioned remedies.

Article 47. The Commission shall consider inadmissible any petition or
communication submitted under Articles 44 or 45 if:

a. Any of the requirements indicated in Article 46 has not been met;

b. The petition or communication does not state facts that tend to
establish a violation of the rights guaranteed by this Convention;

c. The statements of the petitioner or of the state indicate that the
petition or communication is manifestly groundless or obviously out
of order; or

d. The petition or communication is substantially the same as one
previously studied by the Commission or by another international
organization.

Section 4. PROCEDURE

Article 48. 1. When the Commission receives a petition or communication
alleging violation of any of the rights protected by this Convention, it
shall proceed as follows:

a. If it considers the petition or communication admissible, it shall
request information from the government of the state indicated as being
responsible for the alleged violations and shall furnish that government a
transcript of the pertinent portions of the petition or communication. This
information shall be submitted within a reasonable period to be determined
by the Commission in accordance with the circumstances of each case.

b. After the information has been received, or after the period
established has elapsed and the information has not been received, the
Commission shall ascertain whether the grounds for the petition or
communication still exist. If they do not, the Commission shall order the
record to be closed.

c. The Commission may also declare the petition or communication
inadmissible or out of order on the basis of information or evidence
subsequently received.

d. If the record has not been closed, the Commission shall, with the
knowledge of the parties, examine the matter set forth in the petition or
communication in order to verify the facts. If necessary and advisable, the
Commission shall carry out an investigation, for the effective conduct of
which it shall request, and the states concerned shall furnish to it, all
necessary facilities.

e. The Commission may request the states concerned to furnish any
pertinent information and, if so requested, shall hear oral statements or
receive written statements from the parties concerned.

f. The Commission shall place itself at the disposal of the parties
concerned with a view to reaching a friendly settlement of the matter on the
basis of respect for the human rights recognized in this Convention.

2. However, in serious and urgent cases, only the presentation of a petition
or communication that fulfills all the formal requirements of admissibility
shall be necessary in order for the Commission to conduct an investigation
with the prior consent of the state in whose territory a violation has
allegedly been committed.

Article 49. If a friendly settlement has been reached in accordance with
paragraph 1f of Article 48, the Commission shall draw up a report, which
shall be transmitted to the petitioner and to the States Parties to this
Convention, and shall then be communicated to the Secretary General of the
Organization of American States for publication. This report shall contain
a brief statement of the facts and of the solution reached. If any party in
the case so requests, the fullest possible information shall be provided
to it.

Article 50. 1. If a settlement is not reached, the Commission shall, within
the time limit established by its Statute, draw up a report setting forth
the facts and stating its conclusions. If the report, in whole or in part,
does not represent the unanimous agreement of the members of the Commission,
any member may attach to it a separate opinion. The written and oral
statements made by the parties in accordance with paragraph 1e of Article
48 shall also be attached to the report.

2. The report shall be transmitted to the states concerned, which shall not
be at liberty to publish it.

3. In transmitting the report, the Committee may make such proposals and
recommendations as it sees fit.

Article 51. 1. If, within a period of three months from the date of the
transmittal of the report of the Commission to the states concerned, the
matter has not either been settled or submitted by the Commission or by the
state concerned to the Court and its jurisdiction accepted, the Commission
may, by the vote of an absolute majority of its members, set forth its
opinion and conclusions concerning the question submitted for its
consideration.

2. Where appropriate, the Commission shall make pertinent recommendations
and shall prescribe a period within which the state is to take the measures
that are incumbent upon it to remedy the situation examined.

3. When the prescribed period has expired, the Commission shall decide by
the vote of an absolute majority of its members whether the state has taken
adequate measures and whether to publish its report.

CHAPTER VIII. INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1. ORGANIZATION

Article 52. 1. The Court shall consist of seven judges, nationals of the
member states of the Organization, elected in an individual capacity from
among jurists of the highest moral authority and of recognized competence
in the field of human rights, who possess the qualifications required for
the exercise of the highest judicial functions in conformity with the law
of the state of which they are nationals or of the state that proposes them
as candidates.

2. No two judges may be nationals of the same state.

Article 53. 1. The judges of the Court shall be elected by secret ballot by
an absolute majority vote of the States Parties to the Convention, in the
General Assembly of the Organization, from a panel of candidates proposed
by those states.

2. Each of the States Parties may propose up to three candidates, nationals
of the state that proposes them or of any other member state of the
Organization of American States. When a slate of three is proposed, at least
one of the candidates shall be a national of a state other than the one
proposing the slate.

 

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

American Convention on Human Rights.