University of Tulsa College of Law TU Law Digital Commons Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works 1999 The onsC titutionalization of Human Rights in Argentina: Problem or Promise? Janet K. Levit Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.law.utulsa.edu/fac_pub Part of the International Law Commons Recommended Citation 37 Colum. J. Transnat'l. L. 281 (1999). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by TU Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works by an authorized administrator of TU Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Articles The Constitutionalization of Human Rights in Argentina: Problem or Promise? JANET KOVEN LEvrr* Argentina incorporatedseveral internationalhuman rights treaties into its Constitution in 1994, uniquely importing internationallaw into its domestic legal system. While recent scholarship links internalization of international law to obedience, the Argentine experiment highlights that naked constitutionalizationwill not necessarilyenhance compliance with internationallaw. After analyzing the Constitutional Assembly's debates and the ensuing fate of the freshly constitutionalizedhuman rights treaties in domestic courts, this Article concludes that the problems and the incipient promises ofArgentina's constitutionalizationexperiment may be traced to the identity, enthusiasm,and cohesiveness of the transnational actors that coalesced to drive the internalization strategy. Furthermore, in countries like Argentina, where the rule of law is not firmly anchored, an internalizationstrategy that centers on law, and law alone, is unlikely to succeed. A successful internalization strategy must be a dynamic, multifaceted process that engages a myriad of transnationalactors from social,political, as well as legal, spheres.