Abstract

For a long time inter-state complaints in the field of human rights have been regarded with widespread scepticism. Yet, the recent increase in the number of such complaints – before the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, and monitoring bodies – leads to reconsider their appropriateness and usefulness as an instrument for the protection of human rights. This brief analysis of the recent practice aims at exploring the reasons that are prompting States to submit their disputes to international courts and monitoring bodies, and the problems that these judicial and quasi-judicial organs have to confront in dealing with these cases.