La Cumbre de las Américas: un espacio para la cooperación sin apenas proyección normativa

Abstract

The Summit of the Americas’ practice shows us that it is a cooperation body between States of the region which has developed the little normative work. However, this Summit fulfils the precise conditions to allow States to adopt legal agreements within it. Above all, the Summit of the Americas encourages the proclamation of some essential principles which could eventually be part of the international legal order. Beyond the specific results, under no circumstances we should dispense with bodies of this type in the domain of International Law. In fact, often and many times, practice shows that political positions of States receive a legal translation. As it is known, the Summit adopted no agreement on the establishment of a Free Trade Area in the Americas. However, at least, the Summit of the Americas has focused in the «democratic principle» which has gained legal force in the region as well as in the «Free Trade principle» that, surely, in the field of customary law is in the process of crystallization.