The Inter-American System as New Grossraum? Assessing the Case Law of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
22 Pages Posted: 3 Dec 2011
Date Written: May 2, 2011
Abstract
The paper examines decisions from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding the validity of state parties’ amnesty laws under the American Convention. The objective is to understand the reasons used by the Court to ground the claim that domestic amnesty laws lack legal effect. This analytical effort is necessary to face the question of whether regional fragmentation can be considered as new Grossräume. The paper aims to shed light on political choices, not neutral statements, that are implied in the Court's reasoning, that is, the universalist pull of human rights and their superior status when contrasted with domestic laws. Even if there is no possibility of a direct analogy between the Schmittian concept and the Inter-American System, the latter intends to exert hegemonic influence over the region, and this trend has to be analysed considering how political choices have been justified by the Inter-American Court.
Keywords: Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Fragmentation of International Law, Grossraum theory
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