Review of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights jurisprudence from 2021 to 2023

This article reviews the most important cases decided by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights between 2021 and 2023. The Court has introduced important changes in the understanding of legal concepts of Inter-American law that will significantly impact the region. The authors of the article provide an overview of the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the following range of issues: 1) transitional justice; 2) the right to the protection of human rights and the right to informational self-determination; 3) the right to a healthy environment; 4) the right to freedom of expression; 5) sexual and reproductive rights; and 6) the obligations of businesses to respect human rights irrespective of one’s sexual orientation. It is noted that the right to the protection of human rights and the right to informational self-determination have been recognized by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for the first time. The Court also resolved the issue of the status of human rights defenders by including in this category not only lawyers, but also paralegals, technical and administrative staff, members of the press and political scientists. In addition, the Court has recognized the responsibility of the State for violations of the human right to a healthy environment, as well as specified the State’s obligations in relation to mining activities that may have an impact on the environment. In decisions on cases involving violations of the right to freedom of expression, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has clarified the special nature of the protection to be guaranteed to journalists, in particular women journalists, and has also pointed out the special obligations of States to protect the rights of indigenous peoples in relation to their access to radio broadcasting. In the authors’ view, these and other landmark decisions presented in this review demonstrate that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is committed to the progressive development of inter-American law. The categories of issues addressed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights presented in this article indicate directions for the evolution of the system of regional human rights protection in the Americas.

About the authors: Edward Jesús Pérez – Doctoral Candidate at the University College London, LL.M. in International Law (University of Cambridge), MPP from the University of the Andes, Colombia, Attorney at Law at the Andrés Bello Catholic Univer-sity, Venezuela. He was an attorney at the Secretariat of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, London, United Kingdom; Oscar Parra Vera – MSc. in Criminology and Criminal Justice (University of Oxford), Magistrate of the Chamber for the Acknowledgment of Truth, Responsibility and Determination of Facts and Conducts of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia. He served as coordinating attorney at the Secretariat of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Bogota, Colombia .

Citation: Parra Vera O., Jesús Pérez E. (2024) Obzor sudebnoy praktiki Mezhamerikanskogo suda po pravam cheloveka za period s 2021 po 2023 god [Review of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights jurisprudence from 2021 to 2023]. Mezhdunarodnoe pravosudie, vol.14, no.4, pp.3–16. (In Russian).