17.
Moreover, the Court has stipulated that:
it [h]as jurisdiction to issue, with complete authority, interpretations of all provisions of the
Convention, including those of a procedural nature, and it is the most appropriate body to
do so as "the ultimate interpreter of the American Convention.15
18.
In exercising its jurisdiction to interpret procedural provisions of the
American Convention, the Court has adopted fundamental decisions for the interAmerican system. One decision was that the Tribunal is the competent body to
monitor compliance with its own judgments. Indeed, on the sole occasion that a
State challenged the Court's authority to carry out such monitoring, the Court stated
that:
when adopting the provisions of Article 65 of the Convention, [t]he intention of the
States was to grant the Court the authority to monitor compliance with its rulings, and
that the Court would be responsible for informing the OAS General Assembly, through its
annual report, of cases in which the decisions of the Court had not been complied with,
since it is not possible to apply Article 65 of the Convention unless the Court monitors
compliance with its decisions.
To determine the scope of the provisions of Articles 33, 62(1), 62(3) and 65 of the
American Convention, and also Article 30 of the Statute of the Court, and to comply
adequately with the obligation to monitor compliance with its decisions, the Court has
respected the interpretation guidelines set forth in the American Convention and the
1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, and also took into consideration the
nature and superior common values which the Convention is inspired by.16.
19.
Another important decision taken by the Court concerns the alleged
"withdrawal" by a State of the recognition of the jurisdiction of the Court. In various
judgments issued against said State, the Court stated that:
According to Article 31(1) of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties,
[...] a treaty shall be interpreted in good faith in accordance with the
ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of the treaty in their context and
in the light of its object and purpose
[…]
An interpretation of the Convention done “in good faith in accordance with the ordinary
meaning to be given to the terms of the treaty in their context and in light of its object
and purpose” leads this Court to the view that a State Party to the American Convention
can only release itself of its obligations under the Convention by following the provisions
that the treaty itself stipulates. In the instant case, under the Convention, the only
avenue the State has to disengage itself from the Court’s binding contentious jurisdiction
is to denounce the Convention as a whole [...]; if this happens, then the denunciation
15
Article 55 of the American Convention on Human Rights. Advisory Opinion OC-20/09, supra note
8, para. 18. See also Case of Almonacid Arellano et al. v. Chile. Preliminary Objections, Merits,
Reparations and Costs. Judgment of September 26, 2006. Series C No. 12, para. 124, and Case of La
Cantuta v. Perú. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 29, 2006. Series C No. 162, para.
173.
16
Case of Baena Ricardo et al. v. Panama. Competence. Judgment of November 28, 2003. Series C
No. 1, para. 90 and 91.
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