Constitutional Protection of Human Rights in Latin America: A Comparative Study of Amparo Proceedings

Together with the expansive process of human rights constitutional declarations, in addition to the writ of habeas corpus and of habeas data, Latin American constitutions created a specific judicial remedy for the protection of constitutional rights, known as the suit, action, recourse, or writ of amparo. After spreading throughout Latin America, it was incorporated in the American Convention of Human Rights. It is similar to the 'injunctions' and the other equitable remedies of the United States legal system. This book examines, with a comparative constitutional law approach, trends in the constitutional and legal regulations in all Latin American countries regarding the amparo proceeding. It is an abridged version of the course of lectures the author gave at the Columbia Law School analyzing the regulations of the seventeen amparo statutes in force in Latin America, as well as the regulation on the amparo guarantee established in Article 25 of the American Convention on Human Rights.

Part I. The Constitutional and International Declarations of Human Rights and Its Judicial Guaranties: 1. The constitutional declarations of human rights in Latin America and its internationalization; 2. Judicial guaranties of the declarations of human rights; Part II. The Amparo as a Latin American Constitutional and International Law Institution: 3. Judicial review and amparo proceeding in Latin America; 4. The amparo action in countries that only apply the diffuse system of judicial review of legislation; 5. The amparo action in countries that only apply the concentrated method of judicial review of legislation; 6. The amparo as a constitutional right in countries with mixed systems of judicial review of legislation; 7. The amparo as a constitutional guaranty in countries with mixed systems of judicial review of legislation; 8. The American Convention on Human Rights and the internationalization of the amparo in Latin America; Part III. The Injured Party and the Constitutional Rights Protected by Means of the Amparo Proceedings: 9. The injured party: the plaintiff and the rules of standing; 10. The justiciable constitutional rights by means of the amparo and habeas corpus actions; 11. The question of the justiciability of social constitutional rights by means of the amparo action; Part IV. The Injury, the Injuring Party, and the Injuring Acts in the Amparo Proceeding: 12. The general conditions of the injury (harms and threats); 13. The reparable character of the harms and the restorative character of the amparo proceeding; 14. The imminent character of the threats and the preventive character of the amparo proceeding; 15. The injuring party: the defendant (public entities or private individuals); 16. The injuring actions and omissions of public authorities causing the harm or the threats; Part V. The Extraordinary Character of the Amparo Proceeding: 17. The question of the admissibility of the amparo and its relation with the ordinary judicial means; 18. The main principles of the procedure in the amparo proceeding; 19. The adjective configuration of the main phases of the amparo proceeding; 20. The adjudication in the amparo proceeding and the preliminary protective measures; 21. The definitive judicial adjudication in the amparo suit; 22. The revision of the amparo decisions by the Constitutional Court or the Supreme Court.