ABC de la Corte ENG v9

ABC of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights 2020 14 IV. Functions of the Inter-American Court WHAT IS THE CONTENTIOUS FUNCTION OF THE COURT? Within this function, the Court determines if a State has incurred an international responsibility for violating a right enshrined in the American Convention or other relevant human rights treaties in the Inter-American System. Similarly, the Court also supervises the compliance of sentences in this manner. WHAT ARE PROVISIONAL MEASURES? They are measures that the Court hands down in cases that are very serious, urgent, and when they may be necessary to avoid irreparable harm to people. These three requisites must be satisfied prima facie before these measures can be awarded. WHAT IS THE ADVISORY FUNCTION OF THE COURT? This function allows the Court to respond to questions posed by OAS Member States or organs of the OAS regarding: a) the compatibility of internal norms with the Convention, and b) the interpretation of the Convention or other treaties concerning the protection of human rights in the American States. WHAT DOES THE SUPERVISION OF EXECUTION OF JUDGMENTS ENTAIL? The supervision of compliance with the Court’s resolutions first entails a request for information on behalf of the Court to the State about the activities the latter has developed to comply with a decision within the window of time given by the Court, as well as gathering observations from the Commission and from the victims or their representatives. Once the Court has this information, it can determine whether there has been compliance with the judgment, redirect the actions of the State toward this end, and fulfill its obligation to inform the General Assembly about the state of compliance with the cases that come before it. Similarly, when it deems it pertinent, the Court may call the State and victims’ representatives to a hearing to supervise compliance with its decisions and consider the decision of the Commission. WHY DOES THE COURT CONDUCT THIS PROCESS OF SUPERVISION? Effective implementation of the decisions of the Court is key to the full validity and efficacy of the Inter-American System of Human Rights, without which its raison d’être would become illusory.