Looking Forward: Recommendations for Improving the Nominations and Elections Process of Inter-American Commissioners and Judges

Last week, a Panel of five experts – Marion Bethel (Bahamas), Belisário dos Santos Jr. (Brazil), Cecilia Medina (Chile), Juan Méndez (Argentina), and Naomi-Roht Arriaza (United States) – issued the first independent assessment of the election process for judges and commissioners in the Inter-American Human Rights System. The report noted that the current process, despite the quality of the majority of its judges and commissioners, “does not necessarily generate nominees that are the most highly qualified for the job, nor does it guarantee that the requirements of impartiality and independence are met.” In this presentation, two members of the Panel, drawing on comparative experiences from within and outside the region, will discuss the recommendations it made for how to improve the nominations and elections process of Inter-American commissioners and judges.