Brazilian judge takes over as head of Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Brazilian judge Roberto Caldas takes office Monday (Feb. 15) to head the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Elected in November 2015, the 53-year-old judge, who has a 30-year career, has been in charge of the court since the first day of the year, but his formal inauguration was planned to coincide with the opening of the Inter-American judicial year and the regular sessions period.

The court's main duties include ensuring the proper enforcement and interpretation of the American Convention on Human Rights. Judge Caldas told Agência Brasil his priority is to make judges, court officials, prosecutors, and lawyers in countries that ratified the Convention in 1969 familiar with the court's decisions, which are still largely unknown to legal professionals at some member countries, including Brazil. “Many generations [of lawyers] have graduated without learning about human rights and international law,” he said.

Other challenges, according to Roberto Caldas, include increasing dialogue with society and balancing the Court's budget by trying to persuade American countries to raise their contributions as an attempt to avoid canceling or putting off projects. Currently, more than half of the court's resources is provided through cooperation agreements and donations from European countries.

Five new cases will be examined by the court between February 17 and 22. They include allegations that the Brazilian State has failed to take action on a case involving near-slave work on a farm in Pará state between 1980 and 2000. The Brazilian government admits that labor rights violations have taken place, but denies that thousands of workers have been subjected to slavery or forced labor, and therefore rejects international accountability.

The official ceremony to swear Judge Roberto Caldas into office will take place in San José, Costa Rica, and will be broadcast live. At the same time, the court will also be holding an international seminar as of this Monday, called “Narratives and perspectives of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in a global world”. The seminar will discuss the different views and perspectives on the court's activities and those of national court systems, as well as the challenges in a global setting. The seminar will also be streamed live on the court's website.

Translated by Mayra Borges