Part II Means of Protection, Ch.VIII Inter-American Court of Human Rights, s.1 Organization, Article 55

This chapter describes Article 55 of the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR). Article 55 of the ACHR deals with the organization and composition of the Inter-American Court when ruling on the basis of its contentious jurisdiction (Articles 44 and 45 of the ACHR). In particular, a number of rules are laid down concerning the judge of nationality of one or more States interested in the contentious proceedings (“national judge”), as well as the possibility of appointing an ad hoc judge for a specific case. Article 55 is specified in Article 10 of the Statute of the Inter-American Court and in Articles 19 and 20 of its Rules of Procedure. In order to be fully captured, Article 55 must be read in light of other provisions of the Convention, including Article 52, to which express reference is made.