Apple and Orange?: Comparing the Writs of Habeas Corpus and Amparo as Human Rights Remedies in the Philippines
37 Pages Posted: 4 Aug 2014 Last revised: 5 May 2017
Date Written: July 14, 2011
Abstract
The writs of habeas corpus and amparo are known remedies against the arbitrary exercise of State power, particularly in cases of deprivation of liberty. While they substantially intersect, they also substantially differ. In fact in the Philippines, an activist Supreme Court crafted the writ of amparo as a remedy to address cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances or threats thereof. The Arroyo regime presided over a political climate which was marked by a spate of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances which the Great Writ - as the writ of habeas corpus is traditionally known - could not curb.
This paper compares and contrasts the two remedies and looks at actual cases decided by the Philippine Supreme Court to show whether or not the remedies are effective.
Keywords: Writ of habeas corpus, Writ of amparo, Human rights, Enforced disappearance, Extrajudicial killing, Impunity, Liberty, Security, Right to life
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation