Abstract
This article provides an analysis of the practice of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACrtHR) regarding the clean hands doctrine and its legitimacy. This text argues that such an approach is unacceptable for the compensation of moral damages in human rights cases. Its use is even more questionable given that IACrtHR has not provided an explanation for its decisions to withhold reparations for moral damages only for some wrongdoers. In this sense, this article reviews cases in which the IACrtHR has (not) awarded monetary compensation for moral damages to highlight its inconsistent jurisprudence, and the lack of clear and defining criteria. Therefore, it concludes that the IACrtHR has applied the clean hands doctrine without explicitly stating so, this not being compatible with the international human rights law.
| Translated title of the contribution | Manos limpias y corazón puro?: La aplicación de la doctrina de manos limpias por parte de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Pages (from-to) | 12-36 |
| Number of pages | 25 |
| Journal | Estudios de Derecho |
| Volume | 79 |
| Issue number | 173 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Inter-American Court of Human Rights
- clean hands doctrine
- human rights violations
- moral damages
- reparations
- transitional justice