suggested citation: C. Milo, Accesso alla giustizia internazionale e uguaglianza delle parti: la posizione giuridica degli individui dinanzi alle Corti regionali dei diritti umani , lceonline (www.lceonline.eu), 1/2025, I/Saggi e contributi, p. 67 ss.
key words: access to justice, international adjudication, fair trial, international legal personality, regional human rights court
abstract: Access to international adjudication for States, the traditional subjects of international law, is closely linked to the principle of consent and their international legal personality. On the other hand, the structural shortcomings in terms of international legal personality of individuals cause complex issues for their access to international adjudication. The conditions for access to justice and the possibility of ensuring equality of parties are therefore crucial in defining the role of individuals on the international plane. To analyze these concepts, the article first tackles the international norm on the protection of access to justice, highlighting how it is designed for domestic judicial contexts rather than the international level. It then examines treaty provisions that allow individuals to bring cases before regional human rights courts, distinguishing between systems that provide for direct access – such as the European Court of Human Rights and, to some extent, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights – and those that require indirect access, such as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The analysis shows that even in cases where individuals can directly access international justice, structural obstacles persist, preventing full equality between the parties. Indeed, although individual access to regional courts represents a significant development, it remains subject to legal and practical constraints that limit its scope and impact.
