Part II Means of Protection, Ch.VII Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, s.3 Competence, Article 44

This chapter reviews Article 44 of the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR). Article 44 of the ACHR is one of the core provisions of the Inter-American Human Rights complaint mechanism. It determines the standing of the individual petitioners (jus standi) before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and recognizes two procedural rights of action: the international procedural right to denounce and the international procedural right to complain. The distinction between the types of actions is important. The right to denounce is open in favor of a vast scope of beneficiaries and is closely linked to the concept of collective guarantee, while the right to complain is more strictly recognized in favor of the alleged victim of a violation of their rights by a State Party. Article 44 explains that the ACHR is a fertile ground for actions similar to actio popularis, allowing anyone and any group of persons to act in order to ensure the collective guarantee of the ACHR.