LCEL submits written observations on democracy to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

The LCEL has submitted written observations for the ongoing advisory proceedings before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) on the protection of democracy. These proceedings started on 6 December 2024, when Guatemala submitted to the IACtHR a request for an advisory opinion, posing the following main question: “Are States obliged to guarantee and promote democracy as a human right protected by the American  Convention  on  Human  Rights,  as  a  means  for  social,  political  and  economic development and the effective exercise of human rights; or, under both assumptions?”. In 2025, the President of the IACtHR issued an open-call for all interested institutions and persons to submit written observations on this question.

• LCEL´s written observations to IACtHR

With its submission, the LCEL is now one of the few European research centers that have formally participated in the proceedings of the IACtHR. This initiative evinces the interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder engagement of the Center as well as its mission to produce cutting-edge research with social impact beyond academia. It also shows the LCEL’s commitment to establish dialogue and outreach opportunities with other regional settings outside of Europe, bringing the European legal experience into a broader context of comparativism and engagement.

In its written observations, the LCEL offered some legal findings on the basis of the European practice pertaining to five specific issues linked to democracy: (i) the status of democracy as an autonomous human right; (ii) judicial independence; (iii) the combat of digital disinformation; (iv) the fight against corruption; and (v) youth representation and participation in politics. These five points are merely exemplificative. They were selected for their significance for an advisory opinion on democracy in the Inter-American regional context. The Center recognizes the existence of multiple other issues which are equally significant for a democratic society and that were not addressed in the observations solely due to constraints of length and concision. These other issues include rule of law, gender representation; political inclusion of minorities, particularly indigenous communities; the role of political parties; electoral disenfranchisement; elections and electoral authorities; separation of powers; rule of law; states of emergency; among others. The LCEL hopes that the IACtHR will give due regard to these other elements in its advisory opinion.

Lastly, although the request for advisory opinion refers specifically to the Inter-American Human Rights System, the European practice on democracy could be of significance to the IACtHR, particularly because this body often uses sources from other regions, including Europe, for the interpretation of the American human rights instruments. In any case, it is fundamental to have in mind the contextual and legal distinctions between Europe and the Americas, entailing that legal developments in Europe, whether political, judicial and academic, are not automatically or necessarily transposable to the Americas in general or to the Inter-American Human Rights System in specific. The LCEL took this element into account in preparing its written observations.

The written observations were drafted mainly by Bruno Biazatti, in collaboration with Prof. Takis Tridimas and other researchers of the LCEL.