IACHR and Konrad Adenauer Foundation Present Repository of Human Rights Decisions and Standards

December 7, 2021

Washington, D.C. — The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Rule of Law Program for Latin America at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) are launching the first free, open-access database of IACHR rulings and decisions. This initiative is the outcome of a joint project that has been implemented by the two institutions since 2019.

The repository is part of the KAS's Iuslat platform and enables users to perform smart searches of the decisions and standards developed by the IACHR. Specifically, it contains (1) admissibility, merits, and friendly settlement reports; (2) thematic and country reports; and (3) precautionary measures. The platform also contains relevant constitutional and inter-American jurisprudence from the region, including rulings, resolutions issuing provisional measures and advisory opinions from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IA Court), and rulings, sentences, and court orders from both regular and constitutional courts in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Iuslat is the first intelligent search engine for the entire inter-American human rights system. "This tool democratizes knowledge for all individuals, public institutions, civil society organizations, academic establishments, and States in Latin America," said Hartmut Rank, director of the KAS Rule of Law Program for Latin America.

The portal is built on an intelligent search engine that enables users to search the main inter-American standards using parameters such as keywords, subject matter, decision/ruling/report number, and the name of the parties involved in a procedure and/or trial. Users can also compare these in real time, adding further value to the tool.

"This joint project is part of the IACHR's efforts to make human rights standards more transparent and more accessible to all users, while strengthening the tools available for addressing the IACHR's procedural backlog," said the President of the IACHR, Antonia Urrejola. "Collaboration with civil society institutions is fundamental to raising awareness of the IA System and democratizing this," added Executive Secretary Tania Reneaum.

In addition to this search engine and database, the IACHR is also working on a project with the Institute of Democracy and Human Rights at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, "Disseminating the Human Rights Standards of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights." Since 2017, the two organizations have been working together to draft summaries of 71 merits reports and friendly settlement reports from July 2016 to December 2018. These summaries have been included in the Iuslat database and the IACHR website. The three institutions will continue to implement the project in 2022.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

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