ABSTRACT
The year 2009 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights (Commission) and the thirty-first anniversary of the entry into force of the American Convention on Human Rights (American Convention) and the creation of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Court). Although the Commission is neither as old, nor as
well known for its accomplishments as the European Court of Human Rights or the former European Human Rights Commission, no regional human rights body has continuously had to cope with more crises and endemic problems in more countries than has the Commission and, to some extent, the Court. Indeed, if the saving of lives and the securing of broad reparations to victims are appropriate measurements of the effectiveness of any such supervisory bodies, then arguably no other system has been more successful than the Inter-American system.
