The Inter-American Court of Human Rights Rejection of Requests for Advisory Opinions

Abstract

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has a broad advisory jurisdiction, both because of the many entities entitled to request an opinion, and because of the range of matters that the Court may address. Notwithstanding this breadth, the Court decides not to answer some requests. The reasons for doing so are varied, and have been developed by the Court through its case law. This paper systematizes the decisions declining to give an opinion, and analyzes the scope and convenience of the Court’s criteria for doing so.