Adjudication and its Aftereffects in Three Inter-American Court Cases Brought Against Paraguay: Indigenous Land Rights

14 Pages Posted: 8 May 2018

See all articles by Joel E. Correia

Joel E. Correia

University of Arizona Center for Latin American Studies

Date Written: April 2018

Abstract

This paper examines three Inter-American Court (IACtHR) cases on behalf of the Enxet-Sur and Sanapana claims for communal territory in Paraguay. I argue that while the adjudication of the cases was successful, the aftereffects of adjudication have produced new legal geographies that threaten to undermine the advances made by adjudication. Structured in five parts, the paper begins with an overview of the opportunities and challenges to Indigenous rights in Paraguay followed by a detailed discussion of the adjudication of the Yakye Axa, Sawhoyamaxa, and Xákmok Kásek cases. Next, I draw from extensive ethnographic research investigating these cases in Paraguay to consider how implementation actually takes place and with what effects on the three claimant communities. The paper encourages a discussion between geographers and legal scholars, suggesting that adjudication only leads to greater social justice if it is coupled with effective and meaningful implementation.

Keywords: Indigenous rights, Inter-American System, Latin America, legal geography, social justice

Suggested Citation

Correia, Joel E., Adjudication and its Aftereffects in Three Inter-American Court Cases Brought Against Paraguay: Indigenous Land Rights (April 2018). Erasmus Law Review, Vol. 11, No. 01, 2018, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3174691

Joel E. Correia (Contact Author)

University of Arizona Center for Latin American Studies ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://https://las.arizona.edu/user/joel-e-correia

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