Mechanisms to measure the effectiveness of international tribunals and its relationship with judgement compliance.

Abstract

In the last 80 years, the world has seen a proliferation of international tribunals solving international disputes of different nature (territorial, commercial, …). There is a clash between two tendencies: one opting to strengthen them and another looking to undermine them. Both are founded on the premise that international tribunals are not likely to disappear but can constitute major actors in international scenarios. This is particularly important for human rights tribunals.

In this scenario, it is necessary to present a critical study on their performance to determine their effectiveness and the benefits (if any) of keeping institutions that can be very costly (not only monetarily speaking) for the international community. Much of the state of the art regarding international tribunals is centered on their creation and design (from a historical and procedural perspective) or their relationship with other actors (using judicial independence as a starting point).

This paper is focused on the effectiveness of international tribunals and the interrelation with compliance with their judgments and addresses the strained relationship between idealism and reality regarding compliance with the judgements of international human rights tribunals. It is argued that effectiveness is the essential parameter to assess its performance regarding State parties and its users. This paper illustrates how a compliance-based approach to the performance of international human rights tribunals is essential to assess their effectiveness. The analysis be centered on the InterAmerican Human Rights Court.