15.
The Court also took into account that Article 29 of the American Convention on the
"Norms of Interpretation" provides clear hermeneutical guidelines such that the
interpretation of the Convention cannot be done in a way that:
a) allow[s] a State Party, group or person to suppress the enjoyment or exercise of rights and
freedoms recognized in this Convention or restrict them more than the manner provided for in
the Convention;
b) limit[s] the enjoyment or exercise of any right or freedom recognized pursuant to the laws
of any State Party or pursuant to any another convention that the States form part of;
c) exclud[es] other rights or guarantees that are inherent to the human being or that are
derived from a representative democratic form of government;
d) exclud[es] or limit[s] the effect produced by the American Declaration of the Rights and
Duties of Man, and other international acts of the same nature.
16.
The jurisprudence of the Court sets forth that although this provision is in "Part I—
State Obligations and Rights Protected" of the American Convention, Article 29 requires not
only the States that have ratified the Convention but also the Court itself to exercise its
jurisdiction and authority to interpret the Convention. In this sense, both in its contentious
and advisory role, on several occasions, the Court has referred to this provision for the
purposes of interpreting the American Convention, in three areas: 1) to clarify the content
of certain provisions of the Convention, 2) to establish criteria for interpretation, such as the
principle of "evolutionary interpretation" of human rights treaties, the principle of
"implementation of the most favorable norm for the protection of human rights" and the
prohibition of depriving rights of their core content, and 3) to determine the scope of its
advisory jurisdiction.14
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 inter-American 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:
14
Cf. Case of Apitz Barbera et al. ("First Disputes Court") v. Venezuela. Preliminary Objection, Merits,
Reparations and Costs. Judgment of August 5, 2008. Series C No. 182, para. 217 to 219.
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.
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