I also argue that although the Court’s case law has made crucial contributions to defending democracy and opposing institutional decline, it must now craft a more ambitious framework to remain a relevant actor in the protection of democracy in Latin America.

While these approaches are rooted in Latin America’s experience confronting democratic decay, their insights are relevant beyond the region. Human rights courts in Europe and Africa, as well as UN treaty bodies, may draw inspiration from the Court’s adjudicatory strategies.

1. An anti-impunity approach, aimed at consolidating democratic institutions by strengthening the rule of law and dismantling authoritarian-era protections.
2. A pro-judicial independence approach, designed to protect domestic courts from attacks by leaders who weaponize the law.

I argue that the IACtHR has approached antidemocratic threats from innovative perspectives, interpreting individual rights expansively and transforming legal remedies into instruments for reshaping domestic orders. I identify and analyze two approaches developed by the Court:

The article examines how the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has used international law to advance democratic consolidation in former dictatorships and—more relevant to today’s global challenges—to confront ‘low-intensity’ forms of abusive constitutionalism or autocratic legalism.