III. THE WAY TO INTERPRET ARTICLE 26 OF THE AMERICAN CONVENTION FOR
THE DIRECT JUSTICIABILITY OF ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
33.
In addition to the interdependence and indivisibility of rights, explicitly recognized in
the Judgment, the implications of which were demonstrated in the preceding section, the
direct justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights, derives from the American
Convention itself, the instrument at the core of the inter-American system that constitutes
the main object of “application and interpretation” 66 of the Inter-American Court, which has
“competence with respect to matters relating to the fulfillment of the commitments made by
the States Parties” 67 to the Pact of San José.
34.
When considering the scope of the right to health, it is necessary to make an
interpretative re-evaluation of Article 26 of the American Convention, the only article of this
treaty that refers to “the rights implicit in the economic, social, educational, scientific and
cultural standards set forth in the Charter of the Organization of American States as amended
by the Protocol of Buenos Aires,” based on the fact that the Inter-American Court exercises
full jurisdiction over all the articles and provisions, which include this provision of the
Convention.
35.
Furthermore, Article 26 forms part of Part I (State Obligations and Rights Protected)
of the American Convention and, therefore, the general obligations of the States established
in Articles 1(1) and 2 of the Convention are applicable to it, as recognized by the InterAmerican Court itself in the Case of Acevedo Buendía v. Peru. 68 Nevertheless, there is an
apparent interpretative conflict between the scope that should be given to Article 26 of the
Pact of San José, and Article 19(6) of the Protocol of San Salvador, which limits the
justiciability of the economic, social and cultural rights to certain rights only.
A) The apparent conflict between the Pact of San José and the Protocol of San
Salvador
36.
From my perspective, an interpretative development of Article 26 of the Pact of San
José is required in the case law of the Inter-American Court, and this could open new
possibilities for making economic, social and cultural rights effective, in both their individual
and collective dimensions. Moreover, in the future new content could be established through
evolutive interpretations that enhance the interdependent and indivisible nature of human
rights.
37.
In this regard, I consider opportune the call made some months ago by the very
distinguished judge Margarette May Macaulay — from the Inter-American Court’s previous
composition — in her concurring opinion in the Case of Furlan and family members v.
Argentina, 69 regarding the updating of the normative meaning of this treaty-based precept.
The former judge indicated that the Protocol of San Salvador “does not establish any
66
Cf. Article 1 of the Statute of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, approved by the OAS General
Assembly in October 1979.
67
Cf. Article 33 of the American Convention on Human Rights.
68
Case of Acevedo Buendía et al. (“Discharged and Retired Employees of the Office of the Comptroller”),
supra, paras. 16, 17 and 100.
69
Case of Furlan and family members, supra.
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