Regional Systems

A regional system for human rights is a framework created by state parties within a specific geographic region to localize and enforce international human rights norms through treaties, monitoring bodies, and judicial or quasi-judicial mechanisms, operating alongside (but distinct from) the larger global United Nations system. These systems are rooted in binding regional instruments adopted by member states and include supervisory bodies such as commissions and courts that review complaints of human rights violations, interpret regional human rights standards, and monitor state compliance. Individual access is generally conditioned on the exhaustion of domestic remedies. While there are systems all over the world, the most consolidated systems can be found in Europe, the Americas, and Africa.

African System

• African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR)
• African Court on Human and People’s Rights (AfCHPR)

European System

• European Court of Human Rights
• European Court of Justice

Inter-American System

• Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR)