The OAS has no court of general jurisdiction. Members of the OAS are obligated to use pacific means of settlement first, submission of a dispute to the ICJ, and finally submission to the UN Security Council. Any peaceful method of dispute settlement on which the parties agree may be used regardless of the priorities of the Organization. OAS dispute settlement is governed by the American Treaty on Pacific Settlement "Pact Of Bogotá" April 30, 1948. It recognizes the following means of settlement: good offices; mediation; investigation; conciliation; and judicial procedure including arbitration. All states parties to this treaty accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ. It is in force for 15 out of 35 states. The OAS has also formalized cooperation among its members through treaties that cover areas such as criminal law, evidence, sentences, extradition, economic development, and international commercial arbitration.
The Court of Justice of the Andean Community (Tribunal de Justicia de la Comunidad Andina (TJCA)) settles disputes between Andean Community Member States that arise under Community law. The Andean Community is a sub-regional economic integration organization, created pursuant to the Cartagena Agreement of May 26, 1969 to promote regional economic development. The TJAC is seated in Quito, Ecuador and serves the Community’s four Member States: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Community law includes the Cartagena Agreement and its protocols, the Treaty Creating the Court of Justice, the decisions of the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers and the Commission of the Andean Community, resolutions of the General Secretariat, and agreements entered into by Member States in the context of Andean integration. These instruments and decisions generally pertain to regional trade and competition, but also touch on the rights of workers, labor migrants, and consumers; public health; and intellectual property, among other topics. The Court does not have competence to hear individual complaints of alleged human rights violations, but individuals can bring claims to determine whether States are in compliance with trade-related obligations to respect the rights of certain groups.
The Central American Court of Justice was first established in 1907 to maintain peace and resolve disagreements among Central American states, and operated for 10 years in Costa Rica. In 1991, the Statute of the Court was reconfigured under the newly created Central American Integration System (Sistema de Integración Centroamericana (SICA)). The Central American Court of Justice sits in Managua, Nicaragua and has four Member States: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The Central American Court of Justice has jurisdiction over legal disputes on any issue arising between States, actions challenging the legitimacy or compliance of State law or actions with SICA agreements, disputes between government organs, and actions by individuals affected by a SICA agreement or actor.
In November 1969 the Inter-American Specialized Conference on Human Rights was held in San José, Costa Rica in which the delegates of the member States of the Organization of the American States adopted the American Convention on Human Rights. The Convention created two authorities to observe human rights violations: the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Twenty states have recognized the court's jurisdiction, including Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatamala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paragua, Peru, Seriname, and Uruguay.
