DIPAD, JHOZEN E.

INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITARIAN LAW

BAPS 4-1 PROF. JOHN CARLO COLOT

Important Terms/Questions Notes

REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION: AMERICAN UNION

American Union American Union

- Not limited to United States alone, including North America, Central America, and all lands in
the western hemisphere
- Genocide -killing of people based on ethnicity and beliefs. Political or social groups are not
included

Organization of American States (OAS)

- Organized in 1948
American Convention on Human Rights
- Adopted in 1969
- Entered into force in 1978
- Also known as “Pact of San Jose”
- Recognizes rights much in the manner of European Convention.
- Not all nations in the America have ratifies. Canada and U.S are major holdout nations.
Canada and US did not ratify.
- Some of its provisions are controversial specially abortion restriction

Declaration, then convention

- 1948 – American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man (The Bogota Convention).
This was adopted less than a year before UDHR or Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- 1969 – American Convention on Human Rights (Pact of San Jose)
- 1978 – ACHR entered into force

Provisions of American Convention

Chapter I: General Obligation of State Parties

- Refers to the members
- Also courts like the Europe
Chapter II: Civil and Political rights; right to life
- In general, the moment of conception, humane treatment, fair trial, privacy, freedom of
conscience, assembly, freedom of movement.
- Life begins upon conception (union of sperm and egg cell)
- A conceived child, although as yet unborn, is given by law a provisional personality

Civil Rights – right to own property

Political Rights – right to vote, right to speech

~ During the Spanish Time, Filipinos are subjects

~ The Philippines is not a state, but a colony of Spain
~ in the 18th century, the Philippines only has civil citizenship. It is limited to right to own property
and justice
~ in the 19th century, the Philippines has expanded citizenship into civil and political.

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 DIPAD, JHOZEN E.
BAPS 4-1
Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights (IACHR)
INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITARIAN LAW
PROF. JOHN CARLO COLOT
On the Tecson v. COMELEC case:
On the citizenship of FPJ. He is running as a presidential candidate in 2004 elections; however,
the constitution requires the qualification of being a natural born Filipino citizen. Atty Tecson, the
plaintiff, contends that FPJ is not a Filipino. His mother was a US citizen, and his father is a
Filipino. Born in 1939, the constitution in effect was 1935. If born illegitimate, acquire the
citizenship of the mother. SC ruled that Blessy Kelly cannot invoke the law of the PH because she
is not a Filipino. If the citizenship cannot be obtained from the mother, then from the father. After
Treaty of Paris, PH was superseded to US. All former subjects who did not report becomes
automatically a citizen of the Philippines. The grandfather of FPJ did not report, so automatically,
he is a Filipino citizen.
On the Poe v. COMELEC case:
Grace Poe is running as a presidential candidate for the 2016 elections. She was a foundling
found in front of a church in Iloilo. Adopted by FPJ and Susan Roces. If one is aiming for public
office, one should be a natural born citizen. Comelec counted the people in Iloilo, 99.53% of the
people in Iloilo that time are Filipinos, resulting to little chance that she is not a Filipino. If this is
the case, it will be in favor of the foundling.
Chapter III: Single Article on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
Chapter IV: Derogation
- Derogation – the relaxation of law
- In EU, derogation is imposed specially on times of war, but was subject to certain provision
➢ Needs to be reported
➢ Provide reason why and until when it will take effect
Chapter V: Individual responsibilities
Chapter VI-IX: Inter-American Commission, Inter-American Court
- OAS has its own court like Europe
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
- 1959 – IACHR was created, found in Washington, DC, has seven members
- 1961 – began sending representatives to check on human rights
- 1965 – authorized to receive individual complaints
- 1969 – American Convention
- 1979 – Inter-American Court of Human Rights established
Powers of IACHR (Commission)
- Jurisdiction over all nations in OAS
- Does not have judicial power but is gatekeeper of Court of Human Rights because it’s a
commission
➢ Does not give resolutions
➢ Does not give decisions
- It gives decision but it is not final and can be appealed to the court
➢ Serves as the gatekeeper, mediator
Powers of IACHR (Court)
- Court may hear cases that are sent by the commission or referred by a state party
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 DIPAD, JHOZEN E. INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITARIAN LAW
BAPS 4-1 PROF. JOHN CARLO COLOT

➢ Commission – individual cannot file themselves, needs to go through here

➢ State Party – states can go directly
- Unlike the European Court of Human Rights, and individuals may not bring an action without
going through the commission
➢ Individuals cannot file in EU Court
➢ Individuals may file directly to the US commission

Procedure
1. Individuals must lodge a complaint with the Commission and have that body ruled on the
admissibility of the claim
2. If the case ruled admissible and the state deemed at fault, the Commission will generally
serve the state with the list of recommendation to make amends for the violations.
3. Only if the state fails to abide by these recommendations, or if the Commission decides
that the case is of particular importance or legal interest, will the case refer to the Court.
4. The presentation of the case before the Court can therefore be considered a measure of
last resort, taken only after the Commission has failed to resolve the matter on a
noncontentious fashion.

Judges
• Seven Judges
• Six-year term
• Can be re-elected to another term

Jurisdiction
1. ADJUDICATORY – the court decides, does resolution, who won, what will be the
damages
2. ADVISORY – advise, opinion or statement of the court

African Union
African Union

- have no jurisprudence because all cases are inadmissible. It does not follow the principle of
stare decisis.

- 1963 – Organization of African Unity (OAU) was organized and represented the nations of
Africa.
- 1986 – African Charter on Human and People’s Rights
- 1999 – African Union was founded
- Africa also has regional organizations some with court systems that have jurisdiction over
human rights complaints.
➢ aside from the African Union, it also has sub-regional system (civil, ethnic, political)
➢ During WWII, Africa was under Europe. Only had their independence after WWII

African commission on human and people’s rights

- Similar to Americas, also have a commission
➢ Receives state reports
➢ Appoints special representatives (rapporteurs) to examine such topics as torture,
prisons, free expression

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 DIPAD, JHOZEN E. INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITARIAN LAW
BAPS 4-1 PROF. JOHN CARLO COLOT

African charter of human and people’s rights

- 1981 – Charter was adopted
- 1998 – Protocol establishing African Court of Human and People’s Rights
- 2004 – Protocol becomes effective

Court organization
- 11 members elected for six-year term and can be re-elected only once.
- President: Full time, others part time.
- Jurisdiction: All cases concerning the African Charter and protocol.
- Sits at Arusha, Tanzania

Jurisdiction
- Contentious
- Advisory
- First judgment determined application inadmissible. Early cases had same result. Ther still
no jurisprudence

Summary

The Organization of American States (OAS) is a multilateral regional organization in the Western Hemisphere that focuses on human rights,
electoral monitoring, social and economic development, and security. While many foreign policy experts regard the organization as a vital
venue for regional diplomacy, detractors claim that ideological differences among its members have impeded its efforts to promote democratic
values. Its primary functions are promoting democracy, coordinating security and law enforcement operations, providing technical and
financial assistance for development projects, and monitoring human rights through the inter-American legal system. Several autonomous
institutions carry out OAS functions, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Inter-American Juridical
Committee.
The African Union (AU) is an intergovernmental organization with 53 member states (see below) that was founded on July 9, 2002, to replace
the Organization of African Unity (OAU) (OAU). The African Union's Assembly is a semi-annual gathering of the continent's heads of state and
government. The African Union Commission is the name of the AU's secretariat (it will be renamed as African Union Authority). It is
headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and serves as the African Union's executive and administrative arm. The African Commission on
Human and Peoples' Rights must be distinguished.