This summer, Angela Cornell, clinical professor of law, argued before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in San Jose, Costa Rica. The court will be deciding for the first time whether nonhuman entities should have direct access to the Inter-American System of Human Rights. The Government of Panama requested that the court issue an Advisory Opinion interpreting language in the American Convention on Human Rights. The court solicited input from a variety of sources.

Professor Cornell’s argument focused on the rights of trade unions in international law and in Inter-American human rights instruments to support the argument that trade unions should have direct access. Arguments were also received by the Inter-American Commission, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, representatives from several governments in the region, and nonprofit organizations. Supplemental briefs were filed after the argument to respond to questions posed by the seven judges after the oral arguments.

Click here to watch the oral argument recently made by Professor Cornell. (Argument begins at the 18-minute mark.)