Working Session on the Implementation of International Human Rights Obligations and Standards in the Inter-American System

Transcripción

1 Working Session on the Implementation of International Human Rights Obligations and Standards in the Inter-American System PROGRAMME, PRESENTATIONS AND PROPOSED INITIATIVES Compiled by: Anne James Executive Director The International Justice Project 6535 Manet Court Woodbridge, VA USA Tel: +1 (703) Fax: +1 (703) Secretariat Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Organization of American States F Street, N.W Washington, D.C USA Tel: +1 (202) Fax: +1 (202) cidhoea@oas.org

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3 Inter-American Commission on Human Rights & The International Justice Project WORKING SESSION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS OBLIGATIONS AND RESPECT FOR INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS IN THE INTER- AMERICAN SYSTEM Hall of the Americas Organisation of American States Main Building Washington, D.C March 1, 2003 This guide comprises written versions of the panelists presentations, a compact disc containing panelists presentations, articles and other supplementary materials (CD 1) and second compact disc containing audio recordings of all the panels in MP3 format (CD 2). Where a presentation was not made available an audio recording can be found on CD 2. Also included in this publication and on CD 1 is a document entitled Observations and Proposed Initiatives which summarizes the main observations provided during the Working Session relating to the challenges faced in implementing international human rights and freedoms at the domestic level, as well as proposed initiatives that may assist in meeting those challenges. Written versions of the panelists' speeches are provided in the language presented. For translations, please review CD 2 (English and Spanish). Furthermore, Spanish and English versions of this guide and related materials can also be found online at: In his closing remarks, Commissioner José Zalaquett observed that the Working Session was organized as one element in an enduring and mutually constructive dialogue with OAS member states on the issue of implementing human rights. It is in this spirit that the manual has been distributed. We are hopeful that it will serve as a useful resource in the continuing campaign to guarantee full and effective respect for the human rights of the people of our Hemisphere. Introduction

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5 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: Overview 1 Programme 3 Biographies of Panelists 5 Opening Remarks 13 Marta Altolaguirre, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights OPENING PANEL 1: 17 Implementation of International Human Rights Obligations and Respect for International Standards: An Overview of the Issues, Problems and Challenges Presentations: Juan Méndez, 19 Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Pedro Nikken, 25 Former Judge and President, Inter-American Court of Human Rights Mariclaire Acosta, 41 Special Ambassador for Human Rights and Democracy, Government of Mexico Leo Zwaak, 49 Professor, Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, Utrecht University PANEL 2: 65 Implementation through Legislative, Administrative and Policy Mechanisms Presentations: Marcela Briceño Donn, (Not made available. Please see CD 2 for audio recording) Director, Office of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Colombia Jorge Taiana, 67 Secretary for Human Rights, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina Carlos Ayala, 75 Professor of Constitutional and International Law, former Member and President, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Table of Contents

6 PANEL 3: 115 Implementation through Judicial, Quasi-judicial and other Supervisory Mechanisms Presentations: Penny White, 117 Former Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court, USA Hon. Sir C.M. Dennis Byron, 151 Chief Justice, Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal Hon. Abdullai Conteh, 163 Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Belize Dr. Leopoldo Héctor Schiffrin, (Not made available. Please see CD 2 for audio recording) Vice-President, Chamber II, Federal Court of Appeal of La Plata, Argentina PANEL 4: 181 Implementation through Intrastate Levels of Government, including Federal, State/Provincial and Municipal Jurisdictions Presentations: Katherine Gorove, (Not made available. Please see CD 2 for audio recording) Office of the Legal Adviser, US Department of State Flávia Piovesan, 183 Professor, Faculty of Law, PUC, São Paulo, Brazil Lucie Lamarche, 193 Professor, Faculty of Juridical Science, University of Quebec at Montreal CLOSING ADDRESS 207 José Zalaquett, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 207 OBSERVATIONS AND PROPOSED INITITATIVES 215 COMPACT DISC ONE Presentations, Articles, Decisions and Other Materials COMPACT DISC TWO Audio Live Recording of Presentations Spanish & English Versions Available Table of Contents

7 OVERVIEW In their Final Plan of Action issued following the Third Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, Canada in 2001, participating governments included specific commitments concerning the implementation of international obligations and respect for international standards in the field of human rights. In particular, states agreed to: [c]ontinue promoting concrete measures to strengthen and improve the inter- American human rights system, in particular the functioning of the Inter- American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), focusing on: the universalization of the inter-american human rights system, increasing adherence to its founding instruments, complying with the decisions of the Inter-American Court and following up on the recommendations of the Commission, facilitating the access of persons to this protection mechanism and substantially increasing resources to maintain ongoing operations, including the encouragement of voluntary contributing, examining the possibility that the Court and IACHR will function permanently, and entrust the XXXI General Assembly of the OAS, which will take place in San Jose, Costa Rica, in June of this year, to initiate actions to meet the above-mentioned goals. The OAS General Assembly included similar commitments in its Resolution 1890 (XXXII-O/02) on the Evaluation of the Workings of the Inter-American System for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights with a View to its Improvement and Strengthening, adopted during its XXXII Regular Session in Barbados in June In this resolution, the General Assembly undertook, inter alia, to continue taking concrete measures aimed at implementing the mandates of the heads of state and government on the strengthening and improvement of the inter- American human rights system, as set forth in the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas. Among other initiatives, the General Assembly urged OAS member states to: Adopt such legislative or other measures as are necessary to ensure the application of inter-american human rights provisions within the states; Take the necessary steps to comply with the decisions or judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and make its best efforts to follow up on the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has likewise highlighted the need for improved implementation by OAS member states of standards in the inter-american human rights system, including in particular full compliance with Commission recommendations. 1 1 The President of the Commission recently observed, for example, that the Commission s review of follow up on implementation of the Commission s recommendations showed no instances of full compliance, and emphasized that member states must do everything possible to comply in good faith with the Commission s recommendations. Address by Juan E. Méndez, President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, upon presenting the IACHR Annual Report for 2001 to the Juridical and Political Affairs Committee of the Permanent Council of the OAS (April 30, 2002). Introduction Page 1

8 In this context, the Inter-American Commission 2 together with the International Justice Project 3 organized a one-day working session to address the challenges and possible solutions for OAS member states in implementing their international human rights commitments. This session, which also served as a follow up to a meeting of experts convened by the OAS Permanent Council s Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs on March 6-7, 2002 concerning support for the inter- American human rights instruments, 4 constituted a one-day working meeting in which member state representatives heard from and interacted with panels of governmental and non-governmental experts on improving implementation of existing human rights obligations and standards. In order to maximize the interaction between state representatives and experts, participation in the event was limited to OAS member and permanent observer states. The session was comprised of four panels: an introductory panel providing a context and overview of issues for the session, and three further panels focusing on legislative, judicial and intragovernmental mechanisms and initiatives to implement international human rights commitments. Simultaneous translation into the four official languages of the OAS was available, and panelists and participants were provided with a light breakfast, lunch and a reception at the end of the event. 2 The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is one of the principal human rights organs of the Organization of American States. Established in 1959 and comprised of seven independent jurists with recognized expertise in the field of international human rights, the Commission is charged with promoting respect for and the defense of human rights in the Americas, through such mechanisms as preparing studies and reports, conducting on-site visits, and taking action on individual petitions that allege violations of the system s human rights instruments. 3 The International Justice Project is an international human rights advocacy organization that works toward the development, coordination and increased employment of international law and human rights standards. Initiatives utilized by the Project include providing technical assistance and coordinating efforts to promote the employment of international law and human rights standards and sharing technical legal knowledge with governments, lawyers, students, international entities and organizations. 4 On March 7-8, 2002, the Juridical and Political Affairs Committee, in compliance with a request by the OAS General Assembly in its Resolution AG/RES.1929 (XXXI-O/01) convened a Meeting of Experts on Support for the Inter-American Human Rights Instruments. The objective of the meeting was two-fold: to analyze the technical aspects of ratification processes and to observe some of the mechanisms used in various countries that might be useful; and to help participants at the meeting tap the experience acquired by various countries and the organs with regard to, inter alia, legislative reform conducted as a result of ratification of human rights treaties, enforcement of the treaties by national courts, means of verifying compatibility with constitutional provisions prior to ratification of a human rights treaty, the special circumstances that apply to federal states, the possibility of ratifying treaties with certain reservations and/or statements regarding interpretation, the mechanisms by which they are adopted, and international jurisprudence on the subject. See Agenda, Meeting of Experts on Support for Inter-American Human Rights Instruments, OEA/Ser.G COP/CAJP-1854/01 rev.3 (20 February 2002), Explanatory Note. This and other documents pertaining to the Meeting of Experts, including the final report resulting from the meeting (in Spanish only), can be found at Introduction Page 2

9 PROGRAMME INTRODUCTION OPENING PANEL 1: Marta Altolaguirre, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Implementation of International Human Rights Obligations and Respect For International Standards: An Overview of the Issues, Problems and Challenges Panel will provide a historical, legal and political context for the conference and outline some of the main issues, problems and challenges in implementing international human rights commitments, including an overview of previous OAS initiatives on this topic. Panelists: Juan Méndez, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Pedro Nikken, former Judge and President, Inter-American Court of Human Rights Mariclaire Acosta, Special Ambassador for Human Rights and Democracy, Government of Mexico Professor Leo Zwaak, Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, Utrecht University PANEL 2: Implementation through Legislative, Administrative and Policy Mechanisms Panel will provide an overview of the variety of legislative, administrative and policy avenues available to implement human rights obligations, including past experiences as well as new approaches and suggestions. Moderator: Roberto Cuéllar, Executive Director, Inter-American Institute of Human Rights Panelists: Marcela Briceño Donn, Director, Office of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Colombia Jorge Taiana, Secretary for Human Rights, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina Carlos Ayala, Professor of Constitutional and International Law, former Member and President, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights PANEL 3: Implementation through Judicial, Quasi-judicial and Other Supervisory Mechanisms Panel will provide an overview of the manner in which courts and other human rights supervisory bodies may give effect to implement international human rights obligations. Introduction Page 3

10 Moderators: Assistant Magistrate Rodrígo Uprimny, Constitutional Court of Colombia Panelists: Penny White, former Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court, USA Hon. Sir C.M. Dennis Byron, Chief Justice, Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal Hon. Abdullai Conteh, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Belize Dr. Leopoldo Héctor Schiffrin, Vice-President, Chamber II, Federal Court of Appeal of La Plata, Argentina PANEL 4: Implementation through Intrastate Levels of Government, including Federal, State/Provincial and Municipal Jurisdictions Panel will provide an overview of the political and legal complications arising from divisions of responsibility within (e.g. interdepartmental) and between (e.g. federal-state) levels of government that affect the implementation of international human rights protections. Moderator: Clare Roberts, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Panelists: Katherine Gorove, Office of the Legal Adviser, US Department of State Flávia Piovesan, Professor, Faculty of Law, PUC, São Paulo, Brazil Lucie Lamarche, Professor, Faculty of Juridical Science, University of Quebec at Montreal CLOSING José Zalaquett, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights RECEPTION Introduction Page 4

11 BIOGRAPHIES OF PANELISTS Mariclaire Acosta Mariclaire Acosta is the Deputy Secretary for Human Rights and Democracy at the Mexico Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Preceding her appointment to Deputy Secretary, Amb. Acosta served as Special Ambassador for Human Rights and Democracy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as Advisor to the Social Convergence Working Group for Civil Organizations, Political Coordinating Office, Transition team of President-Elect Vicente Fox. Amb. Acosta s involvement with human rights also encompasses a wide spectrum of non-profit, public and private activities. She is a founding member and former President of Comision Mexicana de Defensa y Promocion de los Derechos Humanos (Non-profit Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights), a founding member and former Executive Director of Academia Mexicana de Derechos Humanos (Mexican Human Rights Academy) and served as Chairperson of the Mexican section of Amnesty International amongst other posts held. Amb. Acosta has also lectured extensively. Marta Altolaguirre Marta Altolaguirre is currently the President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and has been a Member of the Commission since January During her time on the Commission, Commissioner Altolaguirre has also acted as its Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women. Prior to her election to the Commission, Commissioner Altolaguirre served as Chair of the Presidential Steering Commission for Executive Policy in Human Rights in Guatemala, and held numerous other advisory and representative positions with the Government of Guatemala. Her duties in this regard have included participating in proceedings on behalf of the Government of Guatemala before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Commissioner Altolaguirre has published and lectured extensively on human rights, economics and other domestic and foreign policy issues. She is an attorney and notary, and completed her graduate studies in Juridical and Social Sciences and post-graduate studies in Political Science at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala. Carlos Ayala Dr. Ayala is the former chairman of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (OAS). Prior to this appointment he was the Rapporteur for Latin American Indigenous People Rights Matters. Dr. Ayala served as President of the Venezuelan Association of Constitutional Law and was bestowed the honour of President Honoris Causa in He is a Member of the Board of the Latin American Institute of Constitutional Law and member and Director of the Andean Commission of Jurists. He is also a Member of the Institute of Research of the State at Universidad de Belgrano, Argentina and of the Argentinean, Colombian and Peruvian Constitutional Law Associations respectively. Currently he is a Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law at Universidad Catolica Andres Bello (UCAB) and Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) and has been the Head of the Department of Constitutional Law at UCAB since Dr. Ayala has also lectured extensively at Georgetown University and the Introduction Page 5

12 Washington College of Law, American University. He is the author of several publications on Constitutional Law and Human Rights. Marcela Briceño-Donn Marcela Briceño-Donn is the Director of the Office of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law with the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Relations. Prior to assuming this position in January 2002, Ms. Briceño-Donn held various other posts with the Foreign Relations Ministry in Colombia, including Chief of Cabinet and Assistant to the Minister. From 1991 to 1993, Ms. Briceño-Donn was a Human Rights Specialist with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington. Her academic experience includes participating in numerous courses, programs and conferences with such institutions as the Federation of Social Sciences of Latin America, the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, and the Faculties of Law and Political Science at Javeriana University in Bogotá. Ms. Briceño-Donn has also written and published on the inter-american human rights system. His Lordship, the Hon. Chief Justice Sir Dennis Byron Sir Dennis graduated with an M.A and LL.B. from Cambridge University in In 1965 he was called to the Bar at the Hon. Society of Inner Temple as Barrister-at-Law of the High Court of Justice in England. He practiced as a Legal Practitioner in St. Kitts and the Leeward Islands between 1966 and In he became Puisne Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) with special assignment as Acting Chief Justice of Grenada in relation to the Maurice Bishop murder trial. Sir Dennis attended numerous Conferences on Judicial Reform Programme and he is particularly interested in Judicial Education Activities. Sir Dennis acted as Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court from 1996 and was confirmed in April of In the year 2000 the non-hereditary title of Sir was conferred upon him by the Queen of England. The Hon. Chief Justice Abdulai Osman Conteh of Belize Chief Justice Conteh holds an LL.B. and LL.M. from Kings College, University of London and an LL.B. and Ph.D. from Kings College, Cambridge University. He is a member of the Honourable Society of Lincoln s Inn and practiced in Sierra Leone and Gambia. Prior to his appointment as Chief Justice of Belize in January 2000, he served as a Member of Parliament in Sierra Leone, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sierra Leone, Minister of Finance, Attorney General, Minister of Justice and was First Vice-President and Minister of Internal Affairs. He also worked for the United Nations Transitional Administration for East Timor (UNTAET). Chief Justice Conteh is the author of several articles on law, governance and democracy and the environment and a book of essays on the Constitution of Sierra Leone, He has also lectured and taught law in both the University and Law School in Sierra Leone. Roberto Cuéllar Since October of 1999, Roberto Cuéllar Martínez has held the position of Executive Director of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights in San José, Costa Rica. Dr. Cuéllar began his career in the field of human rights in 1975, in San Salvador, when he directed the Office of Juridical Assistance of Arzobispado of that city. He arrived in Costa Rica in 1984 and has been affiliated with the IIDH since Before assuming his position as Executive Director, Dr. Introduction Page 6

13 Cuéllar was responsible for the Management of Investigation and Development and the Area of Civil Society. Katherine M. Gorove Ms. Gorove is currently an Attorney in the Office of the Legal Advisor, Office of Human Rights and Refugees in the U.S. Department of State. Prior to this appointment Ms. Gorove served as an attorney for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and at Wiley, Rein & Fielding, Washington, D.C. Ms. Gorove has lectured extensively in the areas of International Law, International Human Rights and International Business and Trade as an adjunct professor at Washington College of Law, American University, Washington, D.C.; George Washington University; ELTE State and Law Faculty, Budapest; Central European University and the University of Mississippi, School of Law. She holds a J.D. from Columbia University, an M.Sc. in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Mississippi. Professor Lucie Lamarche Professor Lamarche is a member of the Faculty of Juridical Science at the University of Quebec at Montreal and has been a member of the Bar of Quebec since She holds a law degree and an LL.M. from the University of Montreal, a Doctorate from the Free University of Brussels and in was the recipient of a Jean Monnet Post-Doctoral Fellowship with the European University Institute in Florence. In the course of her career, Professor Lamarche has been affiliated with numerous nongovernmental organizations, including SORIF Inc. and the Canadian Legal Education and Action Fund for Women. She has also been extensively involved in international initiatives involving the advancement and protection of gender rights, which has included participation in committees and delegations associated with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and the Fourth Official United Nations Conference on Women in Professor Lamarche has published extensively in Canadian and international publications in the areas of human rights, constitutional law, and social policy and development. Juan E. Méndez Juan E. Méndez, an attorney of Argentine nationality, has been a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights since January 2000 and served as its President in He was the Executive Director of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights from 1996 to 1999 and is a professor of law and Director of the Center for Civil and Human Rights of the University of Notre Dame, in Indiana, USA. He has also taught courses in human rights in other universities, including Oxford, in Great Britain and Georgetown and Johns Hopkins, in the United States, and held senior professional and executive posts in Human Rights Watch in the period from 1982 to In addition to his responsibilities as Rapporteur for several countries in the Hemisphere, Dr. Méndez is Rapporteur for the rights of migrant workers and their families. Pedro Nikken Dr. Nikken is a former Judge and President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. His expertise within the area of Human Rights is extensive. In 1990 he was appointed as Legal Advisor to the UN Secretary General on El Salvador s peace process; this was followed by his appointment as a UN Independent Expert to assist El Salvador on Human Rights. He was also Introduction Page 7

14 part of the UN Special Envoy to Burundi on the establishment of a Truth Commission / International Judicial Commission of Inquiry. Dr. Nikken also has extensive experience within the public sector and governmental affairs. From 1969 to 1971 he served as Assistant to the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela and Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela from 1979 to He was also an advisor to the Legislative Committee of the Venezuelan National Congress and as an Alternate Judge, Political Administrative Chamber, Supreme Court of Justice. Dr. Nikken is a Founder, Board Member and currently Permanent Counselor of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights and has served in the capacity of President and Vice-President. He is currently Emeritus Professor of Civil and International Law at the Universidad Central de Venezuela. Prior to this appointment he served a Director of the Law School and General Director and Dean of the Juridical and Political Sciences Faculty at this same institution. Professor Flavia Piovesan Flavia Piovesan LL.M., Ph.D., is a Professor of Constitutional Law and Human Rights at Catholic University of Sao Paulo. She is also a visiting fellow at the Human Rights Programme at Harvard Law School. Professor Piovesan is the author/editor of several books including Human Rights and Constitutional International Law (200, 5 th ed., 481 p.); Human Rights Themes (1998, 2 nd ed., 447 p.); Judicial Protection against Legislative Omissions (1995, 191 p.); Women in Family Cases (1993, 157 p.); Law, Citizenship and Justice (1995, 288 p.); The Inter-American System for Protection of Human Rights and the Brazilian Law (200, 466 p.); Human Rights, Economic Globalization and Regional Integration (2002, 727 p.). Professor Piovesan is also a state attorney and has served as the coordinator of the Human Rights Working Group at the General state Attorney Office in the State of Sao Paulo. In 1998 she was the UN Observer at the 42 nd Session of the Commission of the Status of Women. She is a member of the Latin American Committee for the Defense of Women s Rights (CLADEM), National Council on Human Rights, Centre for Global Justice and the Association of Democratic Constitutionalists. Clare K. Roberts Clare Roberts is a Member and Second Vice-President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and is also an Attorney and Principal of Roberts & Co., Attorneys at Law in Antigua and Barbuda. Commissioner Roberts has held the positions of Attorney General & Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs of Antigua and Barbuda and Solicitor General of Antigua and Barbuda, as well as positions as Director of the Antigua Commercial Bank, ACB Mortgage & Trust and Founding Member and Director of the National Development Foundation of Antigua and Barbuda. Commissioner Roberts received his LL.B. (Honours) and B.A. in History from the University of the West Indies and has lectured extensively in the areas of fisheries legislation, administration and management and the Law of the Sea. He is a Member of the Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, Dominica and BVI Bars, an Associate Member of the American Bar Association, and Vice President of the Antigua Offshore Association. Dr. Leopoldo H. Schiffrin Dr. Leopoldo Héctor Schiffrin has been a judge of the Federal Court of Appeals of La Plata in Argentina since 1987, and occupied the Presidency of that Court in the periods of 1993 and Prior to this, Dr. Schiffrin had an extensive legal career, acting as Legal Secretary and General Secretary of the Attorney General of the Nation between 1996 and 1972 and 1973 and 1975 respectively, and as Secretary of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation between 1984 and Introduction Page 8

15 1987. In the administrative area, Dr. Schiffrin has held the position of Secretary of the Minister of the Interior in 1973 and as assistant to the Legal and Technical Secretary of the Presidency of the Nation between December 1983 and June In the academic field, Dr. Schiffrin received his law degree with honours from the Faculty of Law of the University of Buenos Aires and a Doctorate in Laws from the Universidad Complutense in Madrid. In addition, he completed course specializing in Criminal Law, Philosophy of Law, and International Human Rights Law with the Faculty of Law in Bonn between 1974 and As an lecturer, he has worked as an assistant lecturer with the Institute of Penal Law of the Faculty of Law at the University of Buenos Aires, under the direction of Dr. Luis Jiménez de Asúa, who has been a lecturer with the Chair of Penal Law I, and under the direction of Dr. Eduardo H. Mardquart of U.B.A. and adjunct Professor of Constitutional Law at the same faculty, during periods between 1973 and 1976 and 1984 and He has also been a Professor of State Theory and History of Political Thought in the Postgraduate program in Political Science of the Faculty of Law of the University of Los Andes in Mérida, Venezuela. In addition, Dr. Schiffrin has been a post-graduate lecturer in the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences of U.B.A. and the University of Palermo, and is in charge, at present, of a post graduate course on International Criminal Law at the Notarial University of La Plata. He has assisted the Minister of Justice and the Supreme Court of the Republic of El Salvador concerning criminal justice reform. Finally, Dr. Schiffrin has participated in numerous conferences on Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Constitutional Law and is the author of numerous publications in these areas. Jorge E. Taiana Ambassador Jorge Taiana presently holds the position of Secretary for Human Rights with the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Prior to assuming this post, he was the Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights from 1996 until Ambassador Taiana has also held numerous diplomatic and executive positions with the Government of Argentina, including serving as that State s Ambassador to Guatemala and Belize between 1992 and 1995, and as Director of International Organizations, Sub secretary for Foreign Policy and Sub secretary of Organizations and Special Affairs with the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Relations and Culture at various periods between 1987 and Rodrígo Uprimny Rodrígo Uprimny has served as a Deputy Magistrate with the Constitutional Court of Colombia since He received his law degree from the Externado University in Bogotá in 1984, and holds a D.E.A. in Sociology of Development from Paris I University and a Ph.D. in Economics from Amiens University, also in France. In addition to his position with the Constitutional Court, Dr. Uprimny has taught as a Professor with the Department of Law of the National University of Colombia since Much of Dr. Uprimny s work has been in the areas of Human Rights, Constitutional Law, Communitarian Justice, and Sociology of Law, particularly in third world countries, and he has written extensively on these subjects. Among his publications are an article entitled Violence, Power and Collective Action: A Comparison between Bolivia and Colombia, which appears in the 2001 text VIOLENCE IN COLOMBIA, : WAGING WAR AND NEGOTIATING PEACE published by Scholarly Resources Books, and a paper addressing the Constitutional Court and Control of Presidential Extraordinary Powers in Colombia, which Dr. Uprimny presented to a workshop on the accountability functions of courts in new democracies held in Bergen, Norway in November 2002 and which will be published in the Journal of Democracy. Introduction Page 9

16 Professor Penny White Penny White has served as a judge at every level of the court system in Tennessee. In 1990, she was elected to serve as Circuit Judge in the First Judicial District of Tennessee, the first woman to seek and hold that office. In 1992, she was appointed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, and in 1994 she was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court, the second woman and youngest person to ever hold that office While on the Supreme Court, she was very involved in devising the State s judicial evaluation and alternative dispute resolution programmes and in redrafting the state s post-conviction procedure. Ms. White is presently an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee College of Law where she teaches evidence, professional responsibility, trial practice and pretrial litigation. In addition, she is a member of the faculty and the Faculty Council at the National Judicial College. Ms. White also teaches in judicial and legal education courses across the country on the topics of criminal procedure, evidence, ethics, death penalty, judicial independence and trial techniques. In 2001, Ms. White authored two books for the Tennessee Judiciary, one a bench-book for Circuit Court Judges and the other a bench-book for General Session Court Judges. She has also written several articles on topics including judicial independence, capital punishment and trial practice techniques and a book on sentencing for the National Judicial College. José Zalaquett José Zalaquett was elected to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2001 and presently serves as its First Vice-President. Commissioner Zalaquett, a Chilean, is well known as a jurist and professor of human rights. His background includes teaching in numerous universities in the Hemisphere, particularly in Chile and the United States of America. He has held executive posts in various human rights organizations and organizations concerned with international humanitarian law and international relations; of particular note are the Vicaría de la Solidaridad of Chile and, at the international level, Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists, and the Center for Transitional Justice. Professor Leo Zwaak Leo Zwaak is a Senior Researcher and Senior Lecturer at Utrecht University and the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM) where he holds principal responsibility for teaching and organizing international and national courses on the protection of human rights and is the Course Coordinator of the LL.M. program within this area. He is also Partner and visiting Professor in the Masters program on human Rights and Democratization at the University of Malta and Partner and visiting Professor at the Academy of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law of the Washington College of Law, American University. Professor Zwaak has extensive international teaching experience and has taught in many countries including Central and Eastern Europe; Poland; Albania; Bosnia; Herzegovina; South Africa; Zimbabwe; Tanzania; Ghana and Morocco. Professor Zwaak is the author of several major publications and numerous articles. Professor Zwaak is currently involved in two projects: the Digest of Strasbourg Case-Law Relating to the European Convention on Human Rights and the Council of Europe, which is designed to meet the needs of all those who are required to be, or have an interest in becoming, familiar with the case-law of the organs of the European Convention on Human Rights; and a project on Gross and Systematic Violations of Human Rights in Europe: the Case of Turkey, which addresses the question of whether the mechanisms under the European Convention on Human Rights will be effective in case of gross and systematic violations of human rights. Professor Zwaak also serves as Co-editor of the Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights and National Correspondent to the Introduction Page 10

17 Directorate of Human Rights of the Council of Europe. Professor Zwaak is a member of the Advisory Board, Kurdish Human Rights Project, London and a Member of the Board of International Experts of the Center for International Human Rights, Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago. Introduction Page 11

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19 OPENING REMARKS MARTA ALTOLAGUIRRE President, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Introduction Page 13

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