5
implemented domestically.2
4.
Given that in accordance with Article 67 of the American Convention, the
Court’s judgments are final and not subject to appeal, the State must fully and
promptly comply with the judgments delivered by the Court.
5.
The obligation to comply with the Court’s judgments conforms to a basic
principle of International Law, supported by international jurisprudence, according to
which States must comply with their international treaty obligations in good faith
(pacta sunt servanda) and, as previously held by the Court and provided for in
Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969, States cannot
invoke their domestic laws to escape their pre-established international
responsibility.3 State Parties’ obligations under the Convention bind all State
branches and organs.4 This obligation includes the duty to inform the Court about
actions adopted to comply with the reparations it has ordered which are pending
fulfillment.
6.
States Parties to the Convention must guarantee compliance with its
provisions and their effects (effet utile) in their domestic legal orders. This principle
applies not only in connection with the substantive provisions of human rights
treaties (i.e. those on the rights protected), but also in connection with procedural
rules, such as those concerning compliance with the decisions of the Court. These
obligations are to be interpreted and enforced in such a way that the protected
guarantee is truly useful and effective, considering the special nature of human
rights treaties.5
7.
States Parties to the Convention that have accepted the Court’s binding
jurisdiction have a duty to comply with the obligations established by the Tribunal.
This includes the obligation to inform the Court on the measures adopted in order to
2
Cf. Case of Baena Ricardo v. Panama. Competence. Judgment of November 28, 2003. Series C
No. 104, para. 60; Case of Ivcher Bronstein v. Peru. Monitoring Compliance with Judgment. Order of the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights of August 27, 2010, Considering clause three; and Case of Tristán
Donoso v. Panama. Monitoring Compliance with Judgment. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights of September 1, 2010, Considering clause three.
3
Cf. International Responsibility for the Promulgation and Enforcement of Laws in Violation of the
Convention (Arts. 1 and 2 of the American Convention on Human Rights). Advisory Opinion OC-14/94 of
December 9, 1994. Series A No. 14, para. 35; Case of De la Cruz Flores v. Peru. Monitoring Compliance
with Judgment. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of September 1, 2010, Considering
clause five; and Case of Tristán Donoso v. Panama. Monitoring Compliance with Judgment, supra note 2,
Considering clause five.
4
Cf. Case of Castillo Petruzzi et al. v. Peru. Monitoring Compliance with Judgment. Order of the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights of November 17, 1999. Series C No. 59, Considering clause three;
Case of Tristán Donoso v. Panama. Monitoring Compliance with Judgment, supra note 2, Considering
clause five; and Case of Ivcher Bronstein v. Peru. Monitoring Compliance with Judgment, supra nota 2,
Considering clause four.
5
Cf. Case of Ivcher Bronstein v. Peru. Competence. Judgment of the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights of September 24, 1999, para. 37; Case of Ivcher Bronstein v. Peru. Monitoring Compliance
with Judgment, supra note 2, Considering clause five; and Case of Tristán Donoso v. Panama. Monitoring
Compliance with Judgment, supra note 2, Considering clause six.