On November 18, the Supreme Court of Chile issued a protective order on behalf of Leopoldo Lopez and Daniel Ceballos, two opposition mayors imprisoned without just cause in Venezuela. These brave individuals had the temerity to oppose the regime of Nicolas Maduro, and earlier this year they went on a hunger strike. During that hunger strike my wife, Victoria Villegas, and I filed a protective motion on their behalf in the Appeals Court of Valparaiso Chile. While the hunger strike ended with a promise by the Venezuelan government to hold elections before the end of this calendar year, their imprisonment continues.

While we are all familiar with the assertion of criminal jurisdiction across international frontiers, with its three to two November 18 ruling on our motion the Chilean Supreme Court recognized an even more fundamental obligation of courts to protect human rights wherever the rule of law is weak, rather than to simply punish violations. The plea to protect the two valiant Venezuelan prisoners of conscience was based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the San Jos'{e} Pact, and article five of the Chilean Constitution. Together these accords and declarations recognize that the importance of human rights transcends the usual jurisdictional boundaries.  In particular the Chilean court found that when three conditions are met; (i) the human rights involved are protected as such under the Chilean Constitution, (ii) the courts that would customarily have geographical jurisdiction are neglecting to protect human rights, and (iii) the means employed by the court are within the purview of the Chilean Constitution.  The brutal jailing by the Venezuelan government of Lopez and Ceballos for expressing an anti-regime viewpoint certainly qualifies as a human rights violation, and the silence of the Venezuelan Embassy in the face of repeated requests for information about the prisoners of conscience convinced the court that it’s second criterion was satisfied.  As for the remedy, the court has told its own government to request that the Organization of American States (OAS) send a representative to Venezuela to visit Lopez and Ceballos and to verify the nature of their detention, and then to report back so that the court can decide what further measures it might take.