O indivíduo é sujeito do direito internacional? Análise do acesso limitado ao sistema interamericano de direitos humanos e suas implicações no contexto brasileiro

Abstract

The subjects of International Law are the focus of intense debate in contemporary literature, particularly due to the incorporation of the individual as a member of the international legal system. The inclusion of the individual as a subject of international law is recent and faces the challenge of the state's monopoly in the international legal system, which prevailed for many centuries. The central problem of this research is to determine whether the individual can be considered a subject in the Inter-American System of Human Rights. To this end, the role of the individual in International Law is analyzed, with an emphasis on access to the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Human Rights System. The aim is to examine the limits of access to justice within this system, particularly in the Brazilian context. The research used the deductive-inductive method. Primary sources included Statutes, Regulations, Conference Minutes, and decisions from the Courts, as well as interviews with officials from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Secondary sources consisted of the main bibliographic references. The work is divided into three distinct sections: expository, demonstrative, and correlational. The expository section presents the historical and theoretical evolution of the subjects of international law and the individual's access to justice in the international sphere, through global and regional international courts. A new phase of Jus Gentium, which grants jus standi to individuals will provide a profound reflection on the meaning of access to justice and how such access may, or may not, establish the individual as a subject in the international arena. In the demonstrative section, using this theoretical and historical framework, the research delved into the Inter-American Human Rights System, investigating the place of the individual as a subject of international law, with an emphasis on voluntary access to the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court. A quantitative analysis was conducted of all cases in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights until 2023, as well as of the judgments on the merits of the Inter-American Court of Human Right, from 1987 to 2023. The aim was to identify the limits and obstacles to access to the Inter-American jurisdiction, considering both formal and substantive aspects. In the correlational section, a quantitative and qualitative study was conducted on the complaints before the Commission and on all Brazilian cases adjudicated by the Court until 2023, with the aim of identifying the limits of the individual´s access to the Inter-American jurisdiction in relation to Brazil, seeking to verify whether, in cases involving Brazil, the individual should be considered a subject of international law. Finally, the research demonstrated that individuals have limited access to the Inter-American System as a whole, including both the Inter-American Commission and the Inter-American Court. This limitation undermines the exercise of active legitimacy and highlights that, in the context of Brazilian cases, individuals cannot be considered a subject of the Inter-American System.