Part I State Obligations and Rights Protected, Ch.II Civil and Political Rights, Art.23 Right to Participate in Government

Abstract

This chapter looks at Article 23 of the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR), which protects the political rights of the citizens, and most specifically their right to participate in government and public life. Article 23 contains two paragraphs. The first one recognizes “rights and opportunities” in favor of “citizens,” which is an exception to the general personal scope of the rest of the ACHR, dedicated to “all persons” under its Article 1. The second paragraph of Article 23 limits the State's margin to regulate these “rights and opportunities” based on a “law” and an exhaustive list of criteria as age, nationality, or mental capacity. Given that it allows citizens to choose their representatives—but also to sanction politically the representatives and the government for their human rights record, for instance—Article 23 can be seen as the fundamental “bridge” between the domestic and the international systems.