A Reflection on the Transformative Potential of Reparations. The Approach of the Regional Human Rights Courts

The transformative potential of remedial measures in cases of wrongful acts perpetrated against particularly vulnerable groups or individuals can still be regarded as an underdeveloped and scarcely analysed aspect of reparations. This article will discuss how both the European Court of Human Rights (‘ECtHR’) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (‘IACtHR’) have already embedded in their case law the transformative value of reparations to varying degrees and in different ways. The ECtHR has done so by introducing a pilot judgment procedure, whereas the IACtHR has strengthened the transformative potential of reparations by adopting a comprehensive and victim-centred approach that privileges the combined award of various forms of remedial measures addressing both the personal situation of the victim and the society at large. The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (‘ACtHPR’), on the other hand, is slowly beginning to develop its own approach to the law of remedies and has recently issued its first two judgments on reparations. In light of these first judgments, the present article aims to discuss the route that the youngest regional human rights court seems keen to take in this particular area and compare it with the approach of the other regional human rights courts.