Condemnation by the International Court of Human Rights as a means of guiding and stimulating the public policies of nation states

Abstract

Context: Ecuador, 1998. Talía Gabriela Gonzales Lluy, a three-year-old girl, suffers from a disease called idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. On medical advice, she undergoes a blood transfusion, with blood obtained from the Azuay Red Cross Blood Bank. The mandatory serological tests were not performed beforehand, but were carried out the following day, confirming contamination by the HIV virus, which was transmitted to Talía. The girl suffered discrimination in public education when she was expelled from school, and her family, in a situation of economic vulnerability, was unable to obtain a solution in the domestic courts. The case was brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and subsequently before the Court. Problem: Identify the nature of the measures imposed in the Court's judgment, in particular the guarantees of non-repetition. Objectives: Analyze the judgment handed down by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in this specific case, in order to demonstrate that, although there is no express provision, the measures imposed are structural in nature and aimed at improving domestic public policies, assuming a transformative role.  Methods: This article uses qualitative literature review and document compilation methods with textual reading, synthesis, and application of the synoptic reading technique. Results: Ecuador was ordered to provide reparations in the form of restitution, rehabilitation, satisfaction, guarantees of non-repetition, compensatory damages, costs, and expenses, with reimbursement of expenses to the victim assistance fund. The Court will continue to monitor compliance.  Conclusions: The study shows that the Inter-American Human Rights System, through the Court, by issuing a condemnatory judgment against the defendant State, plays a fundamental role beyond the functions of reparation and compensation, since it can and must seek a transformative vocation, issuing determinations of structural public policy measures capable of altering a generalized panorama of human rights violations.