1. An anti-impunity approach, aimed at consolidating democratic institutions by strengthening the rule of law and dismantling authoritarian-era protections.
2. A pro-judicial independence approach, designed to protect domestic courts from attacks by leaders who weaponize the law.
The article examines how the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has used international law to advance democratic consolidation in former dictatorships and—more relevant to today’s global challenges—to confront ‘low-intensity’ forms of abusive constitutionalism or autocratic legalism.
My forthcoming paper, ‘Consolidating Democracy and Preventing Backslide: Two Approaches to Authoritarian Challenges Developed by the Inter-American Court,’ will be published in the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, Volume 64, 2026. I’ve posted an SSRN draft: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
While these approaches are rooted in Latin America’s experience confronting democratic decay, their insights are relevant beyond the region. Human rights courts in Europe and Africa, as well as UN treaty bodies, may draw inspiration from the Court’s adjudicatory strategies.
I also argue that although the Court’s case law has made crucial contributions to defending democracy and opposing institutional decline, it must now craft a more ambitious framework to remain a relevant actor in the protection of democracy in Latin America.
Okay my little #ProcedureGoblin babes let's get on it, ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of Climate Change thread starts here! 🧵
Seyla Benhabib on Jürgen Habermas's passing: the1313.law.columbia.edu/2026/03/15/s...
I argue that the IACtHR has approached antidemocratic threats from innovative perspectives, interpreting individual rights expansively and transforming legal remedies into instruments for reshaping domestic orders. I identify and analyze two approaches developed by the Court:
Anyone who’s been paying attention to the news knows that the intl order is undergoing dramatic change.
Now, after years of seemingly trying to preserve (or at least give lip service to) the old ways of doing business, the US is openly accelerating—and itself an agent for—disruptive change. 1/ 🧶
