## Facts

- Michael Domingues was convicted in Nevada of two homicides committed in 1993 when he was 16 years old and was sentenced to death.
- The Nevada Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence and upheld the constitutionality of imposing capital punishment for offenses committed at age 16.
- The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari on November 1, 1999, leaving the sentence intact.
- Petitions were filed on Domingues’s behalf with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) challenging the death sentence under the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man.
- The IACHR found the petition admissible regarding alleged violations of Articles I (life), II (equality), VII (special protection for children), and XXVI (due process).
- The United States did not submit timely observations during the Commission’s consideration of the merits.

## Issues

1. Whether international law contained a customary and peremptory (*jus cogens*) norm prohibiting execution for crimes committed by persons under 18.
2. Whether sentencing Domingues to death for crimes committed at age 16 violated Articles I, II, VII, and XXVI of the American Declaration.

## Decision

- The IACHR held that a *jus cogens* norm prohibits executing persons for offenses committed while under 18.
- The IACHR found the United States violated:
  - Article I (right to life) by imposing an arbitrary deprivation of life under the peremptory prohibition;
  - Article II (equality before the law) because U.S. state-by-state variation permitted unequal protection of the right to life in an area governed by a peremptory norm; and
  - Article VII (special protection for children) because capital punishment for juvenile offenders is incompatible with required heightened protection for children.
- The IACHR linked the imposition of a penalty contrary to *jus cogens* to Article XXVI (due process), concluding that proceedings resulting in such a sentence cannot be compatible with due process and humane treatment guarantees.
- The IACHR recommended commutation of Domingues’s death sentence and adoption of measures to ensure no person is sentenced to death for crimes committed under age 18.

## Legal Principles

- For OAS member states not party to the American Convention, the American Declaration constitutes binding human rights obligations within the inter-American system.
- A widespread and consistent international rejection of juvenile executions, reflected in treaties and state practice with *opinio juris*, supports a customary rule that the prohibition has attained *jus cogens* status.
- Peremptory norms bind states irrespective of contrary domestic legislation or judicial decisions; internal law cannot justify breach of *jus cogens*.
- Under the American Declaration, the right to life must be interpreted consistently with applicable international human rights norms; executing juvenile offenders constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of life where a peremptory prohibition is recognized.
- Where a peremptory norm protects a fundamental right, uneven domestic application that exposes persons in some jurisdictions to prohibited punishment can constitute impermissible inequality before the law.
- Children are entitled to special protection in the justice system, and sentencing juvenile offenders to death is incompatible with that protection and with prohibitions on cruel or unusual punishment.

## Conclusion

The IACHR concluded that international law forbids execution for crimes committed under age 18 as a peremptory norm and held that imposing a death sentence on Michael Domingues for offenses committed at age 16 violated the American Declaration, recommending commutation and legal reforms to eliminate juvenile capital sentencing.


Domingues v. United States, Case 12.285, Inter-Am. Comm’n H.R., Report No. 62/02 (Oct. 22, 2002)