El derecho de las relaciones exteriores y la aplicación del derecho internacional de los derechos humanos en América Latina: el caso de Argentina

Zusammenfassung

This thesis critically explores the implementation of foreign relations law («DRE», as is designated here) in Latin America and Argentina. DRE is a long-established legal field in the United States, where it is defined as the domestic law of each nation that governs how that nation interacts with the rest of the world. Nevertheless, it is practically unknown in other countries outside the U.S. DRE has a problematic and delicate interrelation with international law and human rights, since it not only determines the degree of openness of a State towards the international legal order, but also the domestic effectiveness of its regulations. These tensions are particularly complex in U.S. law, where DRE has been harmonized with U.S. foreign policy and geopolitics, rather than with international law. The research suggests that any attempt to implement DRE in Latin America must necessarily consider the path and particular features of the domestic application of international law and human rights in the region. To this end, the thesis develops a two-pronged model of analysis that uses elements both from international law and national law. The model is complemented by a top-down approach —i.e., an analysis of the sources of international law and international bodies to the domestic law of States— and a bottom-up approach, which examines the role of Latin American communities of practice in the formation and application of international law. Lastly, the thesis employs this model to explore the potential implementation of DRE in Argentine law, as well as the trajectory and characteristics of the domestic application of international human rights law in Argentina, particularly with respect to transitional and post-transitional justice in this country, taken as a case study