Covering the meaning, application, and importance of Article 8 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Article 8. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
What Does This Article Mean?
If any person's human rights are violated (which are protected by laws and/or their country's constitution), that person has the right to seek legal help and restitution for the wrongs committed against them.
The Importance of Article 8
This article is multilayered in what it accomplishes in standing up for humanity:
Establishes that everyone is equal under the law.
Legitimizes a mechanism (the legal system) by which any individual in the world has the right to access in seeking to right any wrongs against them.
Lays the groundwork for holding individual country's accountable for ensuring each citizen has access to legal aid in their process of seeking legal remedy.
Enforces that countries and their governments should be protecting human rights and punishing violations in a humane manner.
There are various legal bodies which are dedicated to preserving and upholding Article 8 and the rest of the UDHR articles. One of these is the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) is an autonomous judicial body whose purpose is to make legal decisions specifically in cases where an American state/country is being accused of violating an individual's human rights.
A country can bring another country to court for human rights abuses. Or, the IACHR's partner organization, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, will bring a case against a country on behalf of a victim.
The IACHR has jurisdiction over all American countries who have:
1) Ratified the American Convention on Human Rights
2) Voluntarily submit to accepting the IACHR's jurisdictional authority (whether as blanket acceptance of all rulings or acceptance of individual court rulings).
When ruling in favor of victims of human rights abuses, the court will do its best to ensure that suitable reparations are given.
Take, for example, the reparations of the Barrios Altos Case, Judgment of November 30, 2001, Inter-Am Ct. H.R. (Ser. C) No. 87 (2001) in which national military personnel massacred 14 adults and a child at a party in Lima, Peru.
4 survivors and many relatives of the deceased victims directly received these things from the Peruvian government as recompense:
$175,000.00 in USD ( $581,008.75 in Peruvian Nuevo Sol) paid to them by the state
"Health benefits:" free healthcare coverage at their personal local medical centers
"Education Benefits:" Educational scholarships to a Peruvian University, paid for educational materials, uniforms, etc.
A monument to the massacre victims
A "public expression of apology to the victims for the grave damages caused"
While no court of law can reverse time and prevent the abuses which have occurred in the past, court rulings in favor of the victims will do their best to ensure that those who were abused are able to receive some form of appropriate aid as remedy moving forward.
It is always wrong for any actor to violate your human rights.
It is always right to stand up for yourself and others. The law is on your side.
You have the right to seek legal remedy for any wrong taken against you.