The
Andean Community (Comunidad Andina), previously known as the Andean Pact
or Andean Common Market, is a sub-regional
economic integration organization,
originally created by the Cartagena Agreement of May 26, 1969, encompassing
five Latin-American States: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The aim of the Andean Community is to promote
a regional economic development
that is balanced, harmonious and satisfactory for all members. The Cartagena
Agreement
was subsequently modified in 1987 by the Quito Protocol (the
Andean Pact Treaty), by the Trujillo Act of March 10, 1996,
and by the
Protocol of Sucre signed on June 25, 1997.
The Court of
Justice of the Andean Community (TJAC) is the judicial body and an
integral part of the Andean Community. It was created in 1979 as the Court
of Justice
of the Cartagena Agreement. The Trujillo Act modified it
into the Court of Justice of the Andean Community, and its
statute
was later modified by the Cochabamba Protocol signed on May 28, 1996.
The mission of the TJAC is to ensure the respect of Community law, settle
disputes arising from it, and consistently
interpret it. The jurisdiction
of the TJAC encompasses three areas. Firstly, it may nullify decisions
of the Commission
of the Andean Community, a quasi-legislative organ of
the Andean Community, which it may eventually find in conflict with
the
community legal system. Secondly, it may rule upon the complaint of a
member State or the Junta (a three-member
organ supervising the implementation
of the community agreements) that a member State is not in compliance
with
Community law. Thirdly, it may render binding interpretations of
Community law at the request of national
judges litis pendente
(preliminary rulings).
As a final remark, it should be stressed that all decisions of the TJAC
are directly applicable within member States
without the need of further
incorporation into domestic law.
Data obtained from the Project on International Courts and Tribunals (PICT)