Compensation at the Intersection of Tort Law and International Human Rights Law

For human rights not to become empty letters, the respect and fulfilment of the right to remedy is instrumental to the victims’ recovery from past violations. Human rights abuses have found redress also before domestic courts. Yet litigation can move from the domestic to regional forum where the former does not provide the victim with adequate remedies. The aim of this chapter is to explain how the two systems may interact providing specific means to address and redress wrongful conducts constituting torts and human rights abuses. By exploring the theory of tort law and human rights, including their relationship and interactions, I first outline the interpretative principles on the right to remedy under international law and international human rights law. At the heart of the discussion is compensation as a form of reparation in the Council of Europe’s, Inter-American and African human rights systems respectively. I maintain that, while regional human rights courts can be used as compensatory instruments, perceived as tort law devices, the domestic enforcement of regional courts’ decisions remains nevertheless essential to the award of compensation and the effective realisation of individuals’ right to reparation.