Moiwana Village v. Suriname
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No. 124 (2005)
- Written by Katrina Sumner, JD
Facts
In November 1986, Surinamese soldiers attacked a tribal community, Moiwana Village (plaintiff), home to the N’djuka people. The massacre left 40 community members dead. Moiwana Village was razed to the ground. Survivors ran from the community in fear and did not return. Although the N’djuka people were not indigenous to Suriname (defendant), the N’djuka’s ancestral lands had great significance for them from a cultural and religious standpoint. The Surinamese government did not investigate the attack until 1989, prosecute anyone, or ascertain the identities of bodies located in a mass grave. Survivors filed a petition alleging violations of the American Convention on Human Rights (the convention), which Suriname ratified in November 1987, one year after the massacre. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the commission) made recommendations to Suriname, with which Suriname did not comply. The commission then referred the case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (the court). Suriname submitted preliminary objections, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction because the attack happened prior to Suriname’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
What to do next…
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
