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Intercultural Human Rights Law Review

Ophelia Claude

First Page

407

Abstract

Taking into account the current tremendous caseload before the European Court related to enforced disappearances, this article seeks to make a comparative analysis between the Inter-American Court and the European Court jurisprudence. Part I addresses the various difficulties concerning evidence in disappearance cases. It examines the criteria set up by both courts in terms of admission of evidence and burden of proof, as well as the requisite standard of proof in order to accommodate the difficulties arising in disappearance cases. It underscores the Inter-American Court's willingness to render the standard of evidence more flexible in response to the conundrum faced in disappearance cases while the European Court struggles with former rigid standards that ultimately trigger innovative interpretations of rights. Part II explores the notion of enforced disappearances as defined by the Inter-American Court and ignored by the European Court. It reveals the different methods undertaken by both courts when dealing with disappearance cases and the courts' related effectiveness. Part III enumerates and analyzes the rights violated in disappearance cases in the Inter-American and European systems. It underscores the fundamental differences between the two systems with respect to their normative content and application to the phenomenon of enforced disappearances. Finally, this article proposes to highlight the advantages and shortcomings of both systems and to suggest where a work of comparison of their perspective should be useful in order to identify which one is the most adequate to enhance the full enforcement of human rights in cases of enforced disappearances.

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