Los desafìos de la sentencia de la Corte Interamericana en el caso Almonacid Arellano

Abstract

Abstract. The article analyzes the judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the case “Almonacid Arellano”, where it was decided that (a) although the Chilean declaration acknowledging the competence of the Inter-American Court by “operation of law” referred to facts subsequent to the date the ratification instrument was submitted, the unilateral act of any state is conditioned by the Convention itself as a whole and cannot be subject to objections; and (b) Chile infringed the general duties pursuant to articles 1.1 and 2 of the American Convention on Human Rights (the duty to respect the rights and the duty to adopt decisions of domestic law). Upon the analysis of both aspects mentioned, the legitimacy of Decree Law 2191 is studied in respect of its maintenance as well as its adoption, laying special emphasis on all relevant aspects of the matter. The article ends with a reflection on the legal nature of human rights’ international regulations in Chile and the annulment of the Amnesty Decree Law, concluding that any court which deems that the law does not adjust to the constitutional block of human rights, may and must request the Constitutional Court to pronounce on the inapplicability of the legal precept.