Ivan Richard
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - For the first time ever, the Inter-American Human Rights Court, which is part of the Organization of American States (OAS), is holding sessions in Brazil. Beginning today (28) and running through Friday (31), the Court is conducting its XXVII Extraordinary Period of Sessions in the Brazilian Federal Court of Appeals (STJ). Four cases are being judged: two from Paraguay, one from Chile, and one from Argentina. The meetings are open to the public.

For the coordinator of the international advisory office of the Special Secretariat for Human Rights (SEDH), Renata Pelizon, "it is a very important occasion for all Brazilians and the country's legal workers, for NGOs and state officials to become better acquainted with the way the court functions."

The court, which is the legal organ of the Inter-American Human Rights System, was founded in November, 1969, when the American Convention on Human Rights, which has been in effect since July, 1978, was drafted. Its seat was established in the capital of Costa Rica, San José, on September 3, 1979, in accordance with the Headquarters Agreement signed with Costa Rica.

In the itinerant session in Brazil, Brazilian cases will not be judged. According to Pelizon, this is a way for the court to maintain its impartiality.

This is only the third time the court has met outside its Costa Rica headquarters. The first time was in Chile. The second was last year in Paraguay, and now it's Brazil's turn.

Translation: David Silberstein