18.06.2026
Armin von Bogdandy addresses the impact of the Inter-American Court on academia
On Thursday, 18 June 2026, Armin von Bogdandy, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (MPIL), participated as a panellist in the seminar “The Court in Gown and Backpack honours Pablo Saavedra Alessandri’s institutional legacy”, organised by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in recognition of its former Secretary, who served the Court for more than two decades.
18 June 2026 · Dr. Pablo Casafont Romero Auditorium, Costa Rican Bar Association, San José, Costa Rica
On Thursday, 18 June 2026, Armin von Bogdandy, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (MPIL), participated as a panellist—representing the voice of academia—in the seminar “The Court in Robes and with a Backpack Honours the Institutional Legacy of Pablo Saavedra Alessandri.” The event was organised by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in recognition of its former Secretary, who served the Court for more than two decades.
The event took place at the Dr. Pablo Casafont Romero Auditorium of the Costa Rican Bar Association in San José.
Pablo Saavedra Alessandri, a Chilean lawyer, served continuously as Secretary of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights from January 2004 until 31 March 2026. During this period, he accompanied key processes in the Court’s institutional consolidation, the expansion of its academic and social outreach, and the development of case law that has influenced constitutional systems across the region.
He was succeeded by Gabriela Pacheco Arias, who assumed office as Secretary of the Inter-American Court on 1 April 2026.
The Second Panel: Academia as an Interlocutor of the Court
The seminar was structured around two panels. The first, moderated by Gabriela Pacheco Arias, focused on Pablo Saavedra Alessandri’s contributions to strengthening the institutional foundations of the Inter-American Court. It featured contributions by Elizabeth Odio Benito, former President of the Court; Ricardo C. Pérez Manrique, Judge and former President; and Nancy Hernández López, Judge and former President.
The second panel, moderated by Judge Verónica Gómez, explored Saavedra Alessandri’s contribution to a Court committed to openness and dialogue. In this context, Armin von Bogdandy delivered the presentation “The Impact of the Inter-American Court on Academia,” in which he examined the role of the Inter-American Court as a point of reference for international legal research and as an interlocutor for the academic community.
In his remarks, von Bogdandy argued that, over recent decades, the Inter-American Court has transformed one of the central concepts of Latin American constitutional scholarship: the very notion of constitutionalism. Drawing on the metaphor of a “second floor,” he explained that the Inter-American Court has added a shared level of principles, standards, and arguments above national constitutional systems, without replacing or displacing them. From an academic perspective, he noted, this second floor has been conceptualised as the Ius Constitutionale Commune in Latin America: a regional constitutional law with a transformative ambition which, he stressed, is no longer merely an academic proposal, but one that also finds resonance in the Inter-American Court’s own case law.
The panel also included Lucrecia Molina Theissen, victim in the case Molina Theissen v. Guatemala; Viviana Krsticevic, Executive Director of the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL); and Julio Duarte Van Humbeck, Ambassador of Paraguay to Costa Rica.
The ceremony concluded with remarks by Pablo Saavedra Alessandri and the presentation of gifts by Judge Rodrigo Mudrovitsch, President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. A reception followed in the Dr. Álvaro Burgos Mata hall.
MPIL and the Inter-American Court: Two Decades of Academic and Institutional Dialogue
Armin von Bogdandy’s participation in this tribute—as the voice of academia before the Court—forms part of the academic and institutional relationship developed between the MPIL and the Inter-American Court over the past two decades.
In particular, the Ius Constitutionale Commune in Latin America (ICCAL) project has developed part of its research in dialogue with the case law of the Inter-American Court. The Court has also participated as a co-organiser and institutional partner in various publications and academic activities connected to the project.
Von Bogdandy’s presentation on the impact of the Inter-American Court on academia therefore offered a reflection on the Court’s influence on regional and international legal scholarship, as well as on the importance of dialogue between adjudication, research, and academic training for the development of the ius constitutionale commune in Latin America.
The full text of Armin von Bogdandy’s presentation is available to read here.