Deference and Divergence in Regional Human Rights Courts

Maria A. Sanchez

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Year: 2026
• Topic: Law
• eBook ISBN:
  9781501785528
• Subtopic: International Law
• Index: Law

In Deference and Divergence in Regional Human Rights Courts, Maria A. Sanchez tackles a central tension in global governance: how international human rights courts balance their mandates with the imperative to respect national sovereignty. Despite having similar mandates, the world's three regional human rights courts—the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights—interpret their authority differently, leading to uneven regional enforcement of global human rights principles.

Maria A. Sanchez traces how the geopolitical dynamics of each court's founding moments have manifested in contemporary disparities across the courts' jurisprudences—focusing on disputes involving freedom of expression, personal integrity rights, and LGBTQ+ rights. Her findings expose a paradox: the courts that were founded in the most inhospitable environments for human rights have ended up asserting the most expansive authority over governments.

Deeply researched and insightful, Deference and Divergence in Regional Human Rights Courts speaks to when and how international institutions can leverage authority to intervene in domestic affairs.

Table of contents

• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1. Theorizing International Judicial Authority
• 2. Founding Moments of the Regional Human Rights Courts
• 3. The Courts’ Early Years
• 4. Judgments on the Right to Freedom of Expression
• 5. Judgments on Personal Integrity Rights
• 6. Judgments on Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Discrimination
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Works Cited
• Index