Una Corte de Justicia para el MERCOSUR? Avances ciertos y aparentes hacia una institucionalización reforzada

Since the conclusion of the Treaty of Asunción in 1991, the member states of MERCOSUR made an agreement to create a Common Market. However, this integration regime did not create a jurisdictional institution like the Court of Justice of the European Union. The MERCOSUR Parliament proposed in 2010 a Protocol that would modify the institutional order established by creating a Court of Justice. This Court will replace the current Permanent Court of Review and will dispose of large competences to supervise the current legislation and to control its standard application. The rule that will set up the new Court is inspired by the ones that govern the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and the Court of Justice of the Andean Community. However, some differences should be pointed out. Even if this project foresees the evolution of the current dispute settlement system, certain obstacles are difficult to overcome until the Protocol comes into effect.