On 2 February 2018, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark judgment on compensation for environmental damages in Certain Activities Carried Out By Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua), Compensation Owed by the Republic of Nicaragua to the Republic of Costa Rica. The ICJ's decision was followed shortly thereafter on 9 February 2018 by a significant Advisory Opinion of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), declaring the fundamental importance of the right to a healthy environment to human existence and States' corollary obligations to protect human rights through marine environmental protection in the Greater Caribbean region (summary report of the Advisory Opinion in English found here, while the full text of Colombia's request for advisory opinion on this question can be found here). The 2 February 2018 ICJ Compensation Judgment follows its 16 December 2015 Judgment declaring Nicaragua liable for activities in Costa Rican territory, such as the excavation of three caños and establishment of military presence in said territory (see my previous comments on evidentiary approaches in this 2015…
American Convention on Human Rights
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A Critical Assessment of Colombia’s Advisory Request before the IACtHR – and Why It Should Be Rejected
On 14 March 2016 Colombia filed an Advisory Opinion request before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR). The request poses three questions, which can be summarised as follows: The first question asks whether the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR) entails extra-territorial obligations for a State when interpreted in light of a “treaty-based environmental protection system…
The Successes and Challenges for the European Court, Seen from the Outside
Laurence R. Helfer is the Harry R. Chadwick, Sr. Professor of Law and Co-director of the Center for International and Comparative Lawat Duke University. Cross-posted on AJIL Unbound. In this post I wish to address the successes and challenges for the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), as…
Venezuela denounces American Convention on Human Rights
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has given notice of its intention to withdraw in a year’s time from the leading regional human rights treaty in the Americas, with the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS) having confirmed receipt of the notice of denunciation here: http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-307/12. (Rumours back in July had suggested that Venezuela…
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