Barrios Altos Ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that declared the Peruvian amnesty laws invalid for being incompatible with the American Convention, establishing that they have general effects and obliging the Peruvian State to investigate and punish serious human rights violations.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a landmark judgment in the Barrios Altos case, declaring that the amnesty laws enacted in Peru lack legal effect because they are incompatible with the American Convention. The judgment established that amnesty, statutes of limitation and exclusion of liability provisions that seek to prevent the investigation and punishment of those responsible for serious human rights violations are inadmissible. Subsequently, through an interpretive judgment, the Court unanimously decided that the ruling in the judgment on the merits has general effects, obliging Peruvian courts to initiate or continue criminal proceedings against the alleged perpetrators. The Court established that there is no "acquired right to impunity" and that international obligations to investigate, prosecute and convict those responsible cannot be circumvented by domestic law.