Abstract

The paper explores the notion of vulnerability in three concurring opinions that have been released on cases delivered by the Interamerican Court of Human Rights. In such opinions, the notion of vulnerability is anchored on human fragility as a permanent condition of human beings. Such universal and permanent character legitimizes an idea of collective justice, which is based on the collective relevance given by the law to the instrument of reparations. The paper examines a few notions of vulnerability, seeking to discuss the common assumptions and most significant potential as well as limits of Fineman’s vulnerability theory in the context of legal traditions that promote cultural diversity as one of the expressions of human rights’ universalism.