Access to justice: new ICJ report on business and human rights abuses in Peru

Latin America
Issue: Business and Human Rights
Document Type: Publication
Date: 2013

The report (in Spanish) reviews the country’s existing legal remedies under constitutional law, labour law, civil law and criminal law, and examines the way they operate in practice in the light of concrete cases.

Perú has experienced rapid economic growth and high levels of foreign investment for over a decade leading to important social and economic changes in the country.

However, Peru does not finish to bring its legislation and policies into line with international law and standards in the area of human rights and labour rights.

Access to justice, legal and institutional avenues to obtain a remedy in cases of human rights abuses committed with the participation of companies, is one critical are where national law and standards are sorely lacking.

This report, elaborated jointly by the ICJ and the IDL-Peru, reveals serious gaps and deficiencies in the content of laws and their enforcement.

While constitutional remedies seem to be widely used, criminal law is still not applied to corporations and civil law remedies are hardly used by complainants.

In addition, huge disparities of power and knowledge existing between poor communities or indigenous groups and many times transnational corporations in the mining or oil domain translate into serious procedural deficiencies that amount o denial of due process and fair trial for many.

The report recommends swift action by Peruvian authorities and other actors in the country to improve legislation, enhance the independence and effectiveness of judicial institutes, boost legal aid delivery across the country and improve legal education, including international law.

Peru-Access to Justice-BHR-publications-report-2013-spa (Full text in pdf)

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