Soledad Bertelsen

Soledad Bertelsen serves as Assistant Professor of Law at Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America. Previously, she taught Human Rights and Constitutional Law at Universidad de los Andes in Santiago, Chile since 2014 and held the Associate Dean for Student Affairs position from 2015-2017.

Her academic credentials include:

• J.S.D. in International Human Rights Law, University of Notre Dame
• LL.M., Harvard Law School
• Licenciado en Derecho, Universidad de los Andes (Chile)

Professor Bertelsen specializes in Comparative Constitutional Law, Public International Law, and International Human Rights Law with deep expertise in the Inter-American System. Her research examines Regional Human Rights Systems and conflicts among fundamental rights, particularly through the lens of judicial deference doctrines like the margin of appreciation. She actively contributes to constitutional discourse in Chile through media appearances and serves as expert witness before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Her scholarly trajectory reveals consistent focus on judicial methodology across regional human rights systems. From analyzing European Court consensus standards to Inter-American deference mechanisms and US healthcare conscientious objection, her work systematically investigates the tension between state sovereignty and international human rights obligations. This cross-jurisdictional approach demonstrates how doctrinal innovations in one system may inform challenges in others.