This chapter focuses on the Ius Constitutionale Commune en América Latina (ICCAL)’s impact on transitions to democracy in selected Latin American countries from the perspective of Transitional Justice. In Latin America, transitions to democracy often involve the engagement with major human rights violations of the former regime. A key parameter to measure the impact of the Inter-American Human Rights System (ICCAL) on transitions to democracy will thus relate to its ability to facilitate dealing with these violations at the domestic level and its according support for domestic institutions. More particularly, in the Latin American context, the question arose as of how to qualify the provision of amnesties for past human rights violations since many Latin American States passed amnesty laws in the course of transitions to democracy. As is shown, blanket amnesties run against the very idea of Transitional Justice. Amnesty laws were also subject to a rich case law of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and found to violate key provisions in the American Convention on Human Rights. It is argued accordingly, that the Inter-American Court’s case law on amnesties is of crucial importance for transitions to democracy, and the respective impact of the ICCAL is therefore considerable. More particularly, the Inter-American Human Rights System and the Court have contributed to the realization of all aspects of Transitional Justice when dealing with amnesty laws that are in contravention of the American Convention on Human Rights: with retributive, restorative, and distributive justice.     «

This chapter focuses on the Ius Constitutionale Commune en América Latina (ICCAL)’s impact on transitions to democracy in selected Latin American countries from the perspective of Transitional Justice. In Latin America, transitions to democracy often involve the engagement with major human rights violations of the former regime. A key parameter to measure the impact of the Inter-American Human Rights System (ICCAL) on transitions to democracy will thus relate to its ability to facilitate dealing...    »