A recent decision rendered by the Argentine Supreme Court of Justice breaks the national constitutional framework concerning the relationship between international and domestic law. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs case, the Argentine Tribunal rejected the ruling issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the Fontevecchia and D’Amico case, as it considered that the International Court had no competence to order domestic tribunals to set aside res judicata decisions. The Supreme Court of Justice reached this conclusion despite the fact that the binding nature of the judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has been incorporated into the national Constitution. This Note will analyze the Argentine constitutional framework and describe the evolution of the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Justice to explain the recent and surprising abandonment of the jurisprudence of the highest tribunal. It will challenge the judgment by identifying the legal issues associated with the arguments made by the Supreme Court of Justice and highlight the negative consequences that the ruling may create in the Argentine legal system.

Continue reading The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Case: A Ruling with Unforeseen Consequences in the Enforcement of Human Rights in Argentina