International Justice Resource Center

IACtHR: Guatemala Failed to Investigate Human Rights Defender’s Killing, Protect Family

November 5, 2014 IJRC civil society, democracy & political rights, due process & judicial protection, human rights defenders, Inter-American System, right to life

Last week, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights handed down its judgment in Case of Human Rights Defender et al. v. Guatemala, concerning the State’s failure to adequately investigate and address the 2004 killing of human rights defender Florentín Gudiel Ramos. See I/A Court H.R., Case of Human Rights Defender et al. v. Guatemala. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs.

ECtHR: Ukrainian Opposition Supporter’s Detention for Symbolic Act of Protest Violated Rights

November 4, 2014 IJRC democracy & political rights, due process & judicial protection, European System, liberty & security of person, thought, expression & association

In a judgment released last week, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously held that Ukraine violated the rights to freedom of expression and an appeal in criminal matters when, in 2011, it detained Ms. Galyna Shvydka for ten days under the charge of petty hooliganism due to her act of political protest in support of the opposition party. See

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Holds Hearings on Racism in U.S. Criminal Justice System, Social Protests in Mexico, the Internet, and Other Human Rights Issues

October 29, 2014 IJRC civil society, crime & impunity, democracy & political rights, discrimination, economic, social & cultural rights, human rights defenders, immigration & asylum, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, international human rights, judicial independence, LGBTI rights, liberty & security of person, thought, expression & association, women's rights

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is holding its 153rd session from October 23 to November 7, 2014, with public hearings on October 27, 28, 30 and 31. The hearings allow both States and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide the IACHR with information and context on 53 human rights issues, ranging from the impact of mining operations on human

International Law Professionals’ Happy Hour: November 5th in San Francisco

October 29, 2014 IJRC IJRC Updates

The International Justice Resource Center, the Public International Law Committee of the International Law Section of The State Bar of California, and the New Professionals Interest Group of the American Society of International Law (ASIL), are pleased to invite you to join us at a networking opportunity for current practitioners in international law and students and new professionals interested in entering this exciting

As Blackwater Security Guards Are Convicted for Nisour Square Killings, UN Working Group Pushes for Enhanced Regulation of Private Security Companies

October 29, 2014 IJRC corporate accountability, crime & impunity, extrajudicial executions, international humanitarian law, massacres, military and humanitarian intervention, security & rule of law, U.S. courts, UN Special Procedures

On October 22, jurors in a United States federal district court found four former Blackwater security guards guilty of first-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter for the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqis on September 16, 2007. The killings occurred while a team of security guards – code-named Raven 23 – employed by the private security company escorted a U.S. State Department

In the Case of Dominican and Haitian People Expelled v. the Dominican Republic, IACtHR Finds Multitude of Human Rights Violations

October 28, 2014 IJRC children, discrimination, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, human rights defenders, Inter-American System, interim measures, liberty & security of person

Last week, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights released its opinion in Case of Dominican and Haitian People Expelled v. the Dominican Republic, where it held that the State’s discrimination, detention, and mass expulsion of individuals of Haitian descent violated the rights to: juridical personality, nationality, a name, personal liberty, privacy, fair trial, judicial protection, equal protection before the law,

UN Human Rights Bodies Urge Venezuela to Release Opposition Leader Leopoldo Lopez, Ensure Protesters Are Not Arbitrarily Detained or Prosecuted

October 23, 2014 IJRC due process & judicial protection, Inter-American System, judicial independence, liberty & security of person, thought, expression & association

On Monday, United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein voiced concern over the detention of a Venezuelan opposition leader, Leopoldo López, and more than 69 others who were involved in months-long public protests that began in February 2014 in response to the country’s ailing economy, high rate of violence, and sharp political divisions. “The prolonged

European Court of Human Rights Finds Medical Students’ Observation Violated Patient’s Right to Privacy, in Konovalova v. Russia

October 21, 2014 IJRC European System, privacy, reproductive and sexual rights, Uncategorized

In a new judgment, the European Court of Human Rights has addressed a novel issue in human rights law: whether allowing medical students to observe a childbirth without the mother’s explicit consent violated her right to privacy. [ECtHR Press Release] The applicant, Ms. Yevgeniya Konovalova, argued that the unauthorized presence of medical students during her childbirth unlawfully interfered with her

IACtHR Concludes 105th Ordinary Session, Orders Provisional Measures, Holds Public Hearing, and Delivers Judgments Involving Forced Disappearance, Indigenous Rights, and Arbitrary Killings

October 21, 2014 IJRC children, crime & impunity, cultural rights, due process & judicial protection, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, interim measures, property

From October 8 to 17, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held its 105th Regular Session at its headquarters in San José, Costa Rica. [IACtHR] During this session, the Court handed down three judgments, which will be publicized soon, concerning forced disappearance, indigenous land rights, and arbitrary killings. The Court also issued orders regarding provisional measures in three cases. On

In Baytar v. Turkey, European Court of Human Rights Holds Criminal Defendants Have the Right to an Interpreter during Investigatory Proceedings

October 15, 2014 IJRC due process & judicial protection, European System, liberty & security of person, security & rule of law

Earlier this week, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously held that a criminal defendant has the right to free assistance from a translator during criminal investigatory proceedings if language barriers prevent the accused from having a full understanding of the consequences of waiving his or her rights to keep silent and to legal assistance. See ECtHR, Baytar v. Turkey,