The activities of the Inter-American Juridical Committee, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, summarized in this chapter, are described in greater detail in the reports that each of those bodies prepares pursuant to Article 90.f of the Charter of the Organization.

TOPICS:

• First regular session
• Second regular session
• Course on International Law

The Inter-American Juridical Committee is one of the organs through which the Organization of American States accomplishes its purposes (Article 52 of the Charter). Chapter XV of the Charter defines its composition, duties, responsibilities and functions. The purpose of the Inter-American Juridical Committee is to serve the Organization as an advisory body on juridical matters; to promote the progressive development and codification of international law, and to study juridical problems associated with the integration of the developing countries of the hemisphere. The Committee has its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. It consists of 11 jurists who are nationals of the member States and who are elected by the General Assembly. Vacancies that occur for reasons other than the normal expiration of the terms of the members of the Committee are filled by the Permanent Council.

The Committee held two sessions in 1994, the first in January and the second in August. It also held the Twenty-first Course on International Law, organized in cooperation with the Secretariat for Legal Affairs of the OAS.

First regular session

The agenda for the Juridical Committee's first regular session included topics resulting from mandates received from the General Assembly and the Permanent Council. The Committee approved reports and adopted resolutions on those topics: implementation of the "Enterprise for the Americas" Initiative, especially the issues of facilitating international action by individuals and corporate entities and of establishing a body of basic principles essential to regulation of the securities markets; update of the document on the development of environmental law in the Americas; study of the legal dimensions of integration, particularly the methods for settling disputes in the subregional integration and free trade systems; enhancement of the administration of justice: facilitating access to the courts, human rights and delayed justice, protection of and guarantees for judges and attorneys practicing their profession; peaceful settlement of disputes; freedom of information; human rights and the principle of non-intervention; the legal approach to corruption in the Americas; democracy in the inter-American system, and the legal aspects of the external debt.

In its resolution on the "Methods for settling disputes in the integration and free-trade systems", the Committee resolved to continue to conduct special studies on this issue and decided to do a study analyzing and comparing the conflict-resolution systems and to prepare recommendations on how best to improve them, and on the advisability of developing procedures for settling disputes in those integration systems where such procedures would be useful.

The Committee forwarded to the Permanent Council its report on the modernization of environmental law in the Americas and created a working group to further the studies into the regulation and oversight of securities markets in the hemisphere.

Second regular session

At its second session, the Committee discussed and approved a number of reports and resolutions. It took up the reports presented by the respective rapporteur on the methods used to settle disputes in the Central American Integration System (SICA), in the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), in CARICOM and in the Group of Three. It decided to combine these studies with those already presented on MERCOSUR and NAFTA to prepare a document highlighting analogies, similarities and possible differences among the various integration systems in the region.

It also took up the report on Democracy in the Inter-American System and forwarded it to the Secretary General, noting that the report illustrates that the body of international rules and regulations on this subject is so progressive that it is a real tribute to the Organization of American States and raises issues that, given the development of international law, are of great interest to the Committee and to other competent bodies of the Organization.

The Committee examined the Report on the various procedures that the OAS and the UN offer for settling differences, as well as observations and suggestions as to the relevance and application of the Pact of Bogota.

As for the "Enhancement of the Administration of Justice in the Americas", the Committee examined the "Report on the protection of and guarantees for judges and attorneys practicing their profession" and made recommendations to various organs of the Organization.

Course on International Law

Organized by the Inter-American Juridical Committee in cooperation with the General Secretariat and the Getulio Vargas Foundation, the XXI Course on International Law was held during the second session. Fellows from almost all the member countries participated.

The professors lectured on the following topics of international law, international relations and the inter-American system: CIDIP-V; the law of the sea; the United Nations Conference on Fish Populations; international environmental law; new aspects of international economic law; the inter-American system and the protection of democracy; the Uruguay Round and the prospects for international trade; controlling legal status and settling conflicts in ALADI; the present status of codification on international liability; international jurisdiction; refuge and repatriation; general conditions that apply to contracts; the links between business and the State; reservations to treaties; the recent activity of the International Court of Justice; international humanitarian law; legal aspects of the foreign debt. The students, in turn, set up two working groups: the first on cooperative relations between the OAS and the United Nations in the wake of the Cold War, and the second on humanitarian law and nonintervention.

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