The Capriles v. Venezuela case (Spanish: Caso Capriles vs. Venezuela) is a 2024 judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the international responsibility of Venezuela for violations of rights protected by the American Convention on Human Rights in connection with the 2013 Venezuelan presidential elections. The case was referred to the Court by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on 11 May 2022.
| Capriles v. Venezuela | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | Inter-American Court of Human Rights |
| Full case name | Case of Capriles v. Venezuela |
| Decided | 10 October 2024 |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Nancy Hernández López (president) Rodrigo Mudrovitsch (vice-president) Humberto Sierra Porto Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor Poisot Ricardo Pérez Manrique Verónica Gómez Patricia Pérez Goldberg |
In its decision of 10 October 2024, the Court held that Venezuela had violated the rights to freedom of expression, equality before the law, judicial guarantees and judicial protection to the detriment of Henrique Capriles. The judgment described how the National Electoral Council (CNE) had failed to respond to the complaints of irregularities filed by Capriles's campaign team, and concluded that the Venezuelan government had favoured Nicolás Maduro before, during and after the elections; that public officials had engaged in partisan activity; that state employees had been pressured; and that there had been disproportionate coverage in state-owned media. On that basis, the Court held that the State had undermined the integrity of the elections, Capriles's political rights and the right of Venezuelans to choose freely, and that those irregularities amounted to a serious breach of democratic principles.
Background
editThe lawyer and politician Henrique Capriles ran as a presidential candidate against Hugo Chávez in the 2012 Venezuelan presidential election, in which Chávez was declared the winner. Following Chávez's death, Capriles ran again, this time against the ruling party's candidate, Nicolás Maduro.[1]
In the 2013 presidential elections, Maduro was declared the winner with 50.61% of the vote, against 49.12% for Capriles. Capriles filed a contentious electoral appeal before the Electoral Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) seeking annulment of the elections. The Constitutional Chamber of the TSJ not only rejected the appeal but additionally fined Capriles 10,700 bolívares and referred the appeal brief to the Public Ministry for consideration of possible criminal proceedings against him.[2]
Facts of the case
editCapriles brought the matter before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), alleging violations of his political and judicial rights.[3]
In its Report on Admissibility and Merits, the Commission found that there were significant obstacles to the exercise of political rights in Venezuela, retaliatory actions against the political opposition, and a lack of independence of the National Electoral Council. The Commission referred the case to the Inter-American Court on 11 May 2022.[4]
Proceedings
editThe public hearing in the case was held on 6 February 2024 without the presence of Capriles, who was represented by his lawyer Ramón José Medina, and without any representation on behalf of the Venezuelan State.[3]
Before issuing its final decision, the Inter-American Court ordered the Venezuelan government to lift Capriles's 15-year ban from holding public office, but the order was ignored.[1]
Judgment
editThe Court held that, during the 2013 elections, the rights to freedom of expression, equality before the law, judicial guarantees and judicial protection had been violated to the detriment of Capriles. The judgment recorded that Capriles's campaign team had submitted 348 complaints of irregularities to the National Electoral Council (CNE), none of which were resolved.[1][2]
The Court further concluded that the Venezuelan government had favoured Nicolás Maduro before, during and after the elections, that public officials had engaged in partisan campaigning, that state employees had been pressured, and that there had been disproportionate coverage in state-owned media. The Court held that the acts and omissions of the Venezuelan State, in a context of institutional decline, had been of such a magnitude that they undermined the integrity of the elections, Capriles's political rights and the right of Venezuelans to choose freely, and that those irregularities amounted to a serious breach of democratic principles.[1][2]
In its judgment the Court ordered the Venezuelan State to implement measures to provide minimum guarantees to preserve the integrity and transparency of elections, access to public media, and the independence and impartiality of both the CNE and the TSJ.[2]
Reacting to the decision, Capriles wrote on Twitter: "11 years later [...] we obtained a judgment in relation to the action we brought concerning the 2013 election before the Inter-American Court. We have always sought paths within the framework of our constitution to recover democracy and institutionality. I hope the day comes when the sacred right to decide one's future in PEACE is respected and prevails."[1][2]
Significance
editThe judgment is one of a series of rulings by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights concerning the situation of political rights and judicial guarantees in Venezuela. Although Venezuela had denounced the American Convention on Human Rights (a denunciation later subject to legal dispute), the Court retained jurisdiction over facts that had occurred while the State was still a party to the Convention. Commentators highlighted the ruling as an authoritative international determination that the 2013 electoral process did not meet minimum democratic standards.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 "Corte IDH condena a Venezuela por violación de derechos de Henrique Capriles en elecciones de 2013". Associated Press (in Spanish). Los Angeles Times. 2 December 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Álvarez, José (3 December 2024). "Corte Interamericana de DD.HH. resuelve que el gobierno de Venezuela violó derechos políticos de Capriles". CNN en Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 December 2025.
- 1 2 3 "El caso Capriles contra Venezuela en la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos". Acceso a la Justicia (in Spanish). 20 February 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
- ↑ "CIDH presenta ante la Corte IDH caso de Venezuela por violaciones a los derechos políticos". Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (in Spanish). 11 May 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
External links
edit- "Caso Capriles vs. Venezuela: Sentencia de 10 de octubre de 2024" (PDF). Inter-American Court of Human Rights (in Spanish). 10 October 2024.
- Inter-American Court of Human Rights (7 February 2024). Audiencia Pública del Caso Capriles Vs. Venezuela (in Spanish) – via YouTube.