ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sebastián Mantilla Blanco

Sebastián Mantilla Blanco is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Institute for Public Law of the University of Bonn. His research interests include general public international law, international economic law, and legal history.

POSTS BY Sebastián Mantilla Blanco

05 April 2022

A Backdoor Exit from the European Convention on Human Rights

Russia left the Council of Europe on 16 March 2022. The European Court of Human Rights declared that Russia will remain a Party to the Convention until 16 September 2022. This resolution is inconsistent with applicable termination rules. But even beyond technicalities, it reveals fundamental defects in the design of the ECHR denunciation clause. Forced withdrawal and expulsion from the Council, as mechanisms to sanction severe violations of human rights, should not have the effect of relieving the delinquent State of its conventional human rights obligations. Continue reading >>

28 January 2019

Sebastián Mantilla Blanco

Rival Governments in Venezuela: Democracy and the Question of Recognition

Venezuela is divided into two opposite sets of institutions with competing claims to power. States all over the world face now a choice between two parallel regimes. Only one can be recognized as legitimate. This article argues that, against the backdrop of a split society and rival institutions, coupled with massive protests and widespread civic resistance, democratic legitimation provides a solid criterion for recognition. Continue reading >>