In Chapter 3, I examine patterns of general deterrence in the European and Inter-American Courts of Human Rights.I begin with a discussion of the practices and procedures of the European and Inter-American Courts of Human Rights. Next, I develop a research design to assess general deterrence. I begin by discussing the outcome of interest - regional court effectiveness. In this discussion, I distinguish conceptually and empirically between compliance and effectiveness. To empirically analyze general regional court deterrence, I first examine the influence of regional court presence on respect for rights and find that the presence of the court in the region is not positively associated with better respect for human rights. Next, I examine the influence of regional court activity by looking at the influence of the number of adverse judgments rendered in the region on respect for rights. I find that European Court activity is not significantly associated with greater respect for rights. However, the activity of the Inter-American Court is significantly associated with greater respect for rights. I conclude with a discussion of these divergent findings.