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Constitucionalismo transformador

ICCAL

Democracy in the face of the pandemic

From a legal-political intersection, this project asks what impact did the pandemic have on democracy in the region? Thus, the objective of this project is to identify inter-American transformations and the potential for democratic resistance. Specifically, the project looks at the intervention of the judicial and legislative branches, civic organization and electoral mobilization to prevent the accumulation of power in the executive branch during states of emergency, thus upholding the rule of law.  In this way, the project shows that the ius commune has been present in the efforts to safeguard the rule of law against actions or omissions of the executive in the context of pandemics. The project also identifies good practices and formulates proposals to continue safeguarding the democratic rule of law in the region.

Democracia Pandemia

ICCAL - Impact of the Inter-American System of Human Rights and Inter-Americanization: ESCRD

Inter-Americanization consists of a process of interaction and dialogue of inter-American human rights standards between national and regional norms in which the Inter-American Court and the IACHR have played a relevant role in promoting a transforming constitutionalism. Inter-Americanization is framed within a multilevel protection of human rights and their interdependence. It is also framed within and in an effective protection of human rights, which has led, for example, to the use of a "reverse" interpretation to the extent that the safeguarding of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights (ESCRD) requires the guarantee of civil and political rights, not only vice versa.

This process is manifested on the one hand in the relationship that exists between the constitutional and legislative order and a block of constitutionality that incorporates inter-American and international standards of International Human Rights Law. On the other hand, it is manifested in the adoption of public policies and the promotion of academic debates in accordance with a common body of knowledge on human rights, democracy and the rule of law, as its predominant features.

 

 

ICCAL – Democracy and Human Rights

  1. Central America: Challenges of Democracy

The project investigates from a juridical-political perspective the challenges of democracy in a region that has been characterized between democracy, authoritarianism and democratic resistance in contexts of high repression and impunity.  The countries to be studied in this project are Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras within the framework of the Inter-American human rights system.

The first objective of this project is to identify the common features of the new forms and strategies in the effective defense of human rights and the accountability of the governments of the region in this regard.  The second objective is to analyze whether the current situation of repression and violation of human rights has generated political apathy or, conversely, has promoted political activism and a commitment to the defense of human rights, as evidenced in the protests. In this sense, it projects not only the importance of a more inclusive political participation, but also a new understanding of interconnections between neighbors in the region. The third objective is to identify transnational phenomena such as human mobility or the impact of climate change on the environment, sustainability and democracy.

  1. Democratic Test

The inter-American democratic test is applied as a frame of reference to analyze the balance of democracy, the rule of law and, in particular, human rights. As established in the Inter-American Democratic Charter (IDC), the test derives from the joint interpretation of the essential elements and fundamental components of democratic consolidation (Arts. 3 and 4), from a dual conditionality between democracy and human rights (Arts. 7 and 8) and from the interdependence with social issues (Arts. 11 to 13).

The democratic test evidences the transformed role of a ius commune in the region and offers a reading of human rights as a language that promotes fundamental freedoms in the region by limiting the exercise of authority by States in a democratic and constitutional framework. The project shows how the organs of the Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS) have created standards for States Parties to the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR) to use the democratic test favoring the multilevel protection of universal values, principles and standards regarding human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

  1. Democratic Transition

Based on the case study of Venezuela, this project reflects on the possibility of advancing a transitional justice process that promotes a democratic transformation in the country from a ius commune. The objective of this project is to analyze the case of Venezuela from four dimensions: first, the contextualization; second, the systematization of lessons learned from a comparative perspective; third, the approach of supranational mechanisms in terms of transitional justice; and fourth, the specification of the concept of an anticipated transitional justice.

Within this framework, the project reflects the mechanisms for documenting human rights violations, as well as the articulation and construction of formats for dialogue between international entities with civil society, academia and domestic institutional actors. The added value of this project lies in bringing together academic authors and practitioners from different parts of the world, thus combining in a unique way the experience on the Venezuelan case, on relevant cases from a comparative perspective and the Inter-American human rights system.