Towards a framework of analysis of the right of victims to participate before international human rights adjudicative bodies: A case study of victim participation in the Inter-American System of Human Rights

The right of victims to participate in international human rights adjudicative procedures is generally uncontested, as participation is essential to have standing before these bodies. However, there is a gap in legal literature on how to understand victims’ participation in these proceedings in terms of procedural justice, and what elements their participation should have to be meaningful and effective. This thesis aims to fill this gap. The thesis analyses international human rights adjudication using a mixed theory of procedural justice where both the outcome of the procedure and the procedure itself are crucial. It proposes a typology of victim participation in international human rights adjudication that is used as a framework of analysis to understand the different modalities of participation that exist, and their relationship with procedurally just procedures. The principles of autonomy, personal integrity, equality and non-discrimination, and legal certainty and transparency are also developed, to be followed as guidelines to guarantee the meaningful and effective participation of victims. The Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights are the international human rights supranational bodies that have the most developed and rich practice on victims’ participation. Therefore, the theoretical framework developed in this thesis is used to analyse and reflect on the rich practice of these bodies, looking at their regulations, case-law, public hearings, practice and reports, as well as the information obtained from semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders. Good practice on victims’ participation is identified, as well as areas where there is room for improvement such as cases that involve multiple victims, lack of psycho-social support, and insufficient budgets.