After hearing a claim brought by a Chilean environmental organisation, the Inter-American Court on Human Rights ruled the right to access information was itself a human right which the State was obligated to provide access to information in all but exceptional cases. This paved the way for greater transparency across the Americas.
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The family of a person who died in military custody at an airport brought a claim against the State for violating the deceased’s right to liberty, and other rights. The IACtHR held that the failure to present reasons for the detention or a charge amounted to an arbitrary detention and a violation of the right […]
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Mr. Aguilar-Rodrigez was a national of El Salvador who lived in the USA after fleeing El Salvador. In 2011 he was stopped by police for speeding, but never received a speeding ticket. The police alleged that he was intoxicated and served a 13-day jail term. Instead of being released, he was transferred to Immigration and […]
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Under Costa Rica’s Criminal Code, a judge must review bail decisions every 3 months an accused is in custody. Similar rules exist in El Salvador, Paraguay, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
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“Detentions before a judicial authority in excess of 72 hours, counted from the moment the accused is presented to the authority, are prohibited without presenting formal charges indicating the crime, place, time and circumstances of such crime; as well as the evidence of the crime and of the probable liability of the accused.”
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The complaints body of first instance in the inter-american human rights system. It investigates and decides on human rights complaints. Cases from here can end up in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
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In some countries, such as the USA, police are protected from civil claims through a doctrine called “qualified immunity”. This doctrine protects police unless they have acted incompetently and knowingly acted unlawfully. This can make it very difficult to bring successful civil claims. This VOX article outlines how the concept works in the USA and […]
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This is the police oversight body in Trinidad and Tobago that can investigate misconduct by police.
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Brazil, with a federal government system has federal ombudsman bodies. The first police ombudsman in Brazil was established in the state of Sao Paulo in 1995, with the purpose to enhance internal controls of the actions of the state police. Under federal law (Legislative Decree No. 150, 2009) the Ombudsman position must occupied by a […]
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Example of a general oversight body that can investigate police and other public bodies where suspected of misconduct or human rights abuse.
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