15
relation to other States, but towards the individuals subject to their jurisdiction.35 In
addition, these treaties are applied in keeping with the concept of collective
guarantee.36
63.
In the instant case, the State indicated that the teleological interpretation
arises from the fact that, while Article 12 fails to mention the Court, “Article 11 grants
it exclusive jurisdiction to issue advisory opinions.” This indicates that “the intention of
the parties to the treaty was precisely to delimit the powers of the Court to its advisory
function.” The Commission and the representatives indicated that the Court cannot
refrain from exercising jurisdiction to hear cases relating to violations of the
Convention of Belém do Pará, because this would be contrary to the “principle of
effectiveness.” In this regard, the State indicated that “the Convention already ensures
effectiveness and the application of this principle does not imply that the Court
exercises its jurisdiction over [that Convention]”; because this would “deny or
question” the functions performed by the Inter-American Commission of Women and
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights within the framework of the
mechanisms of protection established by the Convention of Belém do Pará.
64.
The State’s allegation that the Court does not have compulsory jurisdiction,
because Article 11 of the Convention of Belém do Pará only grants advisory jurisdiction
to the Court, does not support that position but, to the contrary, contradicts it. Indeed,
the advisory jurisdiction is not included in Articles 44 to 51 of the American
Convention, so that it had to be established expressly in another provision.
65.
Regarding the principle of effectiveness, the Court reiterates what it indicated in
its first judgment, to the effect that the inherent purpose of all treaties is to be
effective.37 This is applicable to the provisions of the American Convention related to
the authority of the Commission to submit cases to the Court and this is one of the
provisions referred to by the Convention of Belém do Pará.
1.4.
Complementary interpretation criteria; the preparatory work for the
Convention of Belém do Pará
66.
The State affirmed that “the representatives of the States discussed extensively
the way in which violations could be claimed […], concluding that the Commission
would be the only competent body to hear such complaints,” and expressing their
“disagreement with granting jurisprudential powers to the Inter-American Court to
review possible violations” of said Convention. In addition, according to the State, the
Article included in the draft of this Convention that authorized the Court to hear
violations thereof, “was not included in the final version of the [C]onvention.”
Furthermore, it indicated that “the authority to accept the compulsory jurisdiction of a
court is a sovereign act of each State with no limits other than the will of the State.” It
concluded that “it is evident that it was the intention of the signatory States to define
the exclusive jurisdiction of the Commission to hear individual petitions concerning
alleged violations of [this] Convention.”
67.
The Commission refuted the State’s arguments concerning the travaux
préparatorires for the Convention of Belém do Pará and considered that “the States
never discussed […] the possibility of excluding the material jurisdiction of the Court
35
Cf. “Other Treaties” Subject to the Advisory Jurisdiction of the Court (Art. 64 American Convention
on Human Rights), supra note 29, para. 29.
36
Cf. Case of the Constitutional Court v. Peru. Competence. Judgment of September 24, 1999. Series
C No. 55, para. 41, and Case of Ivcher Bronstein v. Peru, supra note 27, para. 42.
37
Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Preliminary Objections, supra note 29, para. 30.