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Journal articles on the topic 'African Court of Human and People's Rights'
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1
Ayissi, Marie Joseph. "African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v. Libya." American Journal of International Law 111, no. 3 (July 2017): 738–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ajil.2017.57.
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On June 3, 2016, the African Court on Human and People's Rights (the Court) rendered its first default judgment, in a case brought by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission) against Libya for alleged violations of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Charter). The Commission had alleged that the Libyan government had violated its obligations under the Charter to protect one of its citizens, Saif al-Islam Kadhafi, from incommunicado detention and to provide him access to counsel. When Libya failed to respond to the Commission's complaint and to the Court's order of provisional measures, the Court proceeded to the merits and found Libya in violation of several articles of the Charter. Its decision reflected both a measured approach to the issuance of default judgments and an emphasis on the need for states to comply with their human rights obligations even in situations of exceptional political and security instability.
2
Akinkugbe, Olabisi D., and Morris K. Odeh. "The Role of the Registry and Legal Division of the African Court of Human and People's Rights in Dispute Settlement." AJIL Unbound 116 (2022): 384–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aju.2022.69.
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This Essay explores whether the African Court of Human and People's Rights’ (African Court) Registry and Legal Division have a similar expansive role in the dispute settlement mechanism as the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Secretariat. The African Court is the African Union's regional body for enforcing human rights. This Essay contributes to the scholarship on African international courts by testing the central arguments in Pauwelyn and Pelc's “Who Guards the ‘Guardians of the System’? The Role of the Secretariat in WTO Dispute Settlement”1 through a comparative analysis of the role of the Secretariat within the African Court.2 Despite the growing jurisprudence and influence of Africa's international courts, they continue to be neglected by mainstream scholarship of international courts and tribunals. This is evident in Pauwelyn and Pelc's article, which does not refer to any of Africa's seven international courts and tribunals. For that matter, the article makes no reference to any international tribunal outside Europe or the United States.3 Our analysis illustrates the fact that the influence of the African Court's Registry and Legal Division (Registry) in the process for dispute settlement is not as significant and concerning as that of the WTO Secretariat. As such, the influence of the Registry on the outcome of a case is significantly limited and does not raise any legitimacy crisis like the WTO. We attribute this disparity to the operational and structural disparities between the African Court and the WTO. In the following paragraphs, we examine each of the factors that Pauwelyn and Pelc raise concerning the influence of the WTO staff in WTO panel and Appellate Body proceedings4 in the context of the functions of the African Court Registry.
3
Daly, Tom Gerald, and Micha Wiebusch. "The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights: mapping resistance against a young court." International Journal of Law in Context 14, no. 2 (May 29, 2018): 294–313. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1744552318000083.
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AbstractAt first glance, it appears that the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights – the first pan-continental court of the African Union (AU) for human rights protection – epitomises the advances made by international courts in Africa in the past decade. Since its first judgment in 2009, the Court has taken a robust approach to its mandate and its docket is growing apace. However, a closer look at the overall context in which the Court operates reveals that it is susceptible to many of the patterns of resistance that have hampered other international courts in the region, which cut across the development of its authority and impact. This paper analyses the forms and patterns of resistance against the African Court and the actors involved, emphasising the additional difficulties entailed in mapping resistance to a young court compared to long-established courts, such as the European and Inter-American human rights courts.
4
Kamau, Ndanga. "Advisory Opinion on the Request by the Pan African Lawyers Union Regarding the Compatibility of Vagrancy Laws with the African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights and other Human Rights Instruments Applicable in Africa (Afr. Ct. H.P.R.)." International Legal Materials 61, no. 1 (November 15, 2021): 142–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ilm.2021.43.
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On December 4, 2020, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Court) issued an advisory opinion on the compatibility of vagrancy laws with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Charter), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Children's Rights Charter), and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Protocol on Women's Rights). In this landmark advisory opinion, the Court considered an important social issue on the African continent.
5
Ssenyonjo, Manisuli. "The Crime of Unconstitutional Change of Government and Popular Uprisings in Africa: Issues and Challenges." African Journal of International and Comparative Law 28, no. 3 (August 2020): 432–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/ajicl.2020.0322.
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Several African states have experienced military coups as a form of government change, undermining the constitutional change of governments, human rights and threats to regional peace and security in Africa. This article examines the crime of unconstitutional change of government in Africa. It considers the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Criminal Law section of the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights over the crime of unconstitutional change of government. It then examines the scope of the crime of unconstitutional change of government and whether there is a right to peaceful rebellion against undemocratic governments in Africa. It also considers the impact of immunity granted to African heads of state on the prosecution of the crime of unconstitutional change of government. It further explores whether the imposition of the death penalty by some domestic courts for the crime of unconstitutional change of government is compatible with African states’ international human rights obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other human rights instruments. This is followed by a consideration of the challenge of providing funds for the benefit of victims of crimes including unconstitutional changes of government.
6
Budoo, Ashwanee. "Association Pour le Progrès et la Défense Des Droits Des Femmes Maliennes (APDF) and the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) v. Republic of Mali (Afr. Ct. H.P.R.)." International Legal Materials 57, no. 6 (December 2018): 1097–130. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ilm.2018.51.
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On May 11, 2018, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Court) delivered a judgment against Mali concerning its Persons and Family Code (Family Code). This case is groundbreaking because it is the first time that the African Court has found violations of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children's Charter).
7
Swart, Mia. "Judicial Independence at the Regional and Sub-Regional African Courts." Southern African Public Law 29, no. 2 (December 18, 2017): 388–407. http://dx.doi.org/10.25159/2522-6800/3662.
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Qualified and independent judges are essential for the legitimacy of the Courts. African regional courts will only contribute to the rule of law if the courts are legitimately composed. The purpose of this article is to consider whether judicial independence at the African regional and subregional courts has contributed t setting standards for the rule of law in Africa. The focus will be on the African Court of Human and People's Rights as well as the courts of the most prominent subregional communities. Because of the influence of the African Commission the composition of this body will also be considered.
8
Mangu, André Mbata B. "The Changing Human Rights Landscape in Africa: Organisation of African Unity, African Union, New Partnership for Africa's Development and the African Court." Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights 23, no. 3 (September 2005): 379–408. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/016934410502300304.
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As Pliny the Elder once put it, ‘ex Africa semper aliquid novi’. There is always some thing new coming out of Africa, and this time for the better. Over the last decade, some important developments unfolded on the African continent with the potential to impact on the future of African peoples. The African Union (AU) whose major purpose is to place Africa firmly on the road to development replaced the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) was launched to achieve African renaissance. The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) was devised as NEPAD's linchpin and both were integrated within the AU. The Protocol to the African Charter establishing an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights finally came into operation. There is renewed hope that a new era has begun and time has come for Africa's development, which is not possible without a more effective and better protection of human rights. In this article, the author reflects on the changing human rights landscape in Africa under the AU, NEPAD, and the African Court.
9
Mbori, Harrison. "Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza v. The Republic of Rwanda." American Journal of International Law 112, no. 4 (October 2018): 713–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ajil.2018.74.
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In its landmark November 24, 2017 judgment in Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza v. The Republic of Rwanda, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACtHPR) or Court) held that certain aspects of the right to a fair trial (presumption of innocence and illegal searches) and the right to freedom of expression under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Banjul Charter) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) had been violated by the Republic of Rwanda (Respondent State). In its final orders, however, the Court rejected the applicant's prayer for immediate release and deferred its decision on other forms of reparation. The judgment has broad implications on how African states protect and respect the rights to a fair trial and freedom of expression. The case also offers some vital lessons on state backlash towards human rights litigation and African states’ compliance with decisions of international courts (ICs).
10
Bekker, Gina. "The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights: Safeguarding the Interests of African States." Journal of African Law 51, no. 1 (April 2007): 151–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021855306000210.
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AbstractThis article examines the extent to which the decision to establish the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights was motivated by the desire of African states to safeguard their own interests at the expense of effectively protecting human rights in Africa. Using an examination of the drafting history of the Banjul Charter and the establishment of the African Commission as a background, this article explores the potential implications for the future of human rights protection on the continent as a result of the creation of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and its proposed merger with the African Court of Justice.
11
Jonas, Benjamin. "African Court on Human and Peoples Rights:." UONGOZI Journal of Management and Development Dynamics 31, no. 1 (June 30, 2021): 1–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.69522/uongozi.v31i1.1.
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This paper aims at dissecting, using a purely legalistic approach, the jurisprudence of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights (the Court) as it manifests in its decided cases. The aim is to show how the Court has dealt with the state’s consent and validity of its seizure as a prerequisite for its jurisdiction. This is important in showing how the Court has fulfilled or failed to fulfil the objective of providing justice to individuals against actions of the state as the primary objective of its establishment. The review considered those cases that are available online on the Court’s website , and those reported in the African Court Law Reports. The paper concludes that African states, as history has it, have been reluctant to submit to supranational monitoring and scrutiny of their human rights records and behaviour. This state of affairs is worsened by the unchecked freedom of states to make and withdraw declarations entitling individuals to access the Court. It is therefore recommended that the aspects in the Protocol that establishes the Court, especially those relating to the competency of the Court to receive individual complaints be reassessed so as they are couched in a manner and terms that facilitate the achievement of the primary objective for the establishment of the Court.
12
Antigegn, Getahun Kumie. "The Role of African Court on Human and Peoples’ Right for Human Rights Protection: The Case of Libyan Crises." Advanced Journal of Social Science 7, no. 1 (March 29, 2020): 38–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.21467/ajss.7.1.38-44.
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The emergence of regional human rights systems depicts one of the greatest achievements in the internationalization of human rights. The foundation of the charter paved the way for the birth of the court thereafter. The African Court is established by virtue of the 1998 protocol to the Charter and the court is built upon an arsenal of protective and remedial techniques. The establishment of the court has reset the stage and created a new platform for the protection of human rights in Africa. The cardinal objective of the paper is to investigate the role of African Court on human and Peoples’ rights protection in Libya Crises taking the case of Saif Al Islam Gaddafi. The paper has utilized qualitative methodology. The government of Libya responded with brutal force against civilian protesters in contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law. The security force of the government of Libya killed many protesters as well. This situation intensified human rights violations and enforced many of the peoples to displace. The court issued an important ruling in March 2011, ordering provisional measures against Libya in the armed conflict in its territory. Libyan government denied the claims of human rights violations in its territory and showed its willingness to subject itself to criminal investigations by the Court if necessary. The issue of the fund, independence, commitment and competence of judges to interpret mandate and jurisdiction, the willingness of the states to support and to abide by court decisions, and powers of the concerned body to enforce court decisions hampered the court from being effective. Generally, unless African States act in good faith with respect to the decisions of the African Human Rights Court, the court becomes no more significant.
13
Mujuzi, Jamil Ddamulira. "The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Its Protection of the Right to a Fair Trial." Law & Practice of International Courts and Tribunals 16, no. 2 (December 5, 2017): 187–223. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15718034-12341347.
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Abstract Article 3(1) of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights provides that: “[t]he jurisdiction of the Court shall extend to all cases and disputes submitted to it concerning the interpretation and application of the [African] Charter, this Protocol and any other relevant Human Rights instrument ratified by the States concerned.” Since its establishment, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights has handed down judgments dealing, inter alia, with the right to a fair trial under Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. This article discusses these judgments to highlight how the Court has interpreted or applied Article 7 of the African Charter. The author will analyse the jurisprudence of the Court on the right to a fair trial and in particular discuss the following themes that have emerged from this jurisprudence: the Court’s interpretation of the components of the right to a fair trial; the right to be heard and the right to defend oneself; the right to legal assistance, including legal aid; manifest errors in the trial; the right to be tried within a reasonable time; and the role of a prosecutor in contributing to the fairness of the trial. The author also discusses how the African Court has invoked other treaties to interpret the relevant provisions of the African Charter and how the African Court has interpreted other treaties apart from the African Charter.
14
Ssenyonjo, Manisuli. "Responding to Human Rights Violations in Africa." International Human Rights Law Review 7, no. 1 (June 19, 2018): 1–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22131035-00701003.
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This article examines the main achievements and challenges of Africa’s two regional bodies established to ensure the implementation of human rights in Africa. It makes an assessment of the role of Africa’s oldest regional human rights body, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) in the last 31 years of its operation (from 1987–March 2018). It also considers the judicial role of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Court) in the last 12 years of its operation (from 2006–March 2018). The increasing contribution of both the Commission and the Court to the protection of human rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights is rarely subjected to scrutiny in mainstream human rights literature. The article is limited to the consideration of the Commission’s contribution with respect to: (i) decisions on admissibility of communications concerning mainly exhaustion of domestic remedies; (ii) decisions on merits of communications; (iii) adoption of resolutions, principles/guidelines, general comments, model laws and advisory opinions; (iv) special rapporteurs and working groups to deal with thematic human rights issues; (v) consideration of State reports and conducting on-site visits; and (vi) referral of communications to the African Court involving unimplemented interim measures, serious or massive human rights violations, or the Commission’s findings on admissibility and merits.
15
Mujuzi, Jamil Ddamulira. "The Right to Compensation for Wrongful Conviction/Miscarriage of Justice in International Law." International Human Rights Law Review 8, no. 2 (November 30, 2019): 215–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22131035-00802003.
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Human rights treaties (including Article 14(6) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (iccpr); Article 3 of the Protocol No. 7 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; and Article 10 of the American Convention on Human Rights) explicitly protect the right to compensation for wrongful conviction or miscarriage of justice. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights is silent on this right. The Human Rights Committee, the European Court of Human Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have developed rich jurisprudence on the ambit of the right to compensation for wrongful conviction or miscarriage of justice. States have adopted different approaches to give effect to their obligation under Article 14(6) of the iccpr. Relying on the practice and/or jurisprudence from States in Africa, Europe, North America, Asia, and Latin America and on the jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee, the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the article illustrates the approaches taken by some States to give effect to Article 14(6) of the iccpr and the relevant regional human rights instruments.
16
Ssenyonjo, Manisuli, and Saidat Nakitto. "The African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights ‘International Criminal Law Section’: Promoting Impunity for African Union Heads of State and Senior State Officials?" International Criminal Law Review 16, no. 1 (February 5, 2016): 71–102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15718123-01601003.
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On 27 June 2014 the African Union (au) Assembly adopted a protocol entitled ‘Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights’. This Protocol contains an annex entitled ‘Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights’. The Protocol and the Statute annexed to it provide for the establishment of a regional court in Africa to be known as the ‘African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights’ (African Court). This Court will, among others, exercise criminal jurisdiction over a wide range of international crimes involving individual criminal responsibility and corporate criminal liability over legal persons (with the exception of States), which goes beyond any other international court or hybrid tribunal. This article considers reasons for establishing a regional court in Africa with criminal jurisdiction and examines the likely effectiveness of the African Court focussing on the wide jurisdiction conferred on the Court; the impact of immunity from criminal prosecution granted to serving au heads of State and other undefined ‘senior State officials’; and the need to strengthen national criminal jurisdictions to enable them to prosecute international crimes in Africa.
17
Sloth-Nielsen, Julia. "Remedies for child rights violations in African human rights systems." De Jure 56, no. 1 (February 7, 2023): 625–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2225-7160/2023/v56a36.
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This article provides an overview of remedies for child rights violations in the African Human rights system. Principally the focus is on the communications procedure under the Africa Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). However, the process under the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights is referred to, as are possibilities at the level of regional courts. The impact of the decisions on communications handed down to date is discussed, as are the remedies that the Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child has fashioned. Implementation of recommendations is a theme throughout the article.1 Challenges and areas for improvement are reflected upon, and a conclusion of the current state of play is provided.
18
Vladykina, Anna. "Problem of acceptance of the rulings rendered by subregional courts in the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights." Международное право и международные организации / International Law and International Organizations, no. 3 (March 2019): 48–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.7256/2454-0633.2019.3.29751.
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The subject of this article is the problem of acceptance of the rulings rendered by subregional economic courts by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The research leans on the approaches towards the procedure of filing same cases in multiple international jurisdictions. Particular attention is paid to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights; as well as to the work of African Commission and African Court with regards to the problems of low efficiency in their interaction with the courts of subregional economic communities. The article demonstrates the existence of complex and contradictory problems, which solution affect the eventual fate of the courts of African subregional economic communities. The solution of these issues depends on reaching consensus with regards to acceptance of rulings rendered by subregional economic communities as final, as well as permission to file complaints to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights for separate individuals.
19
Possi, Ally. "The East African Court of Justice: Towards Effective Protection of Human Rights in the East African Community." Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law Online 17, no. 1 (2013): 173–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/18757413-90000084.
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Human rights in Africa are under the microscope of regional and subregional mechanisms. The regional mechanism is under the auspices of the African Union (AU), in which human rights come under the scrutiny of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Sub-regional organizations, established as Regional Economic Communities (RECs), have recently developed their own jurisprudence in promoting and protecting human rights in Africa through their legally constituted institutions. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have emerged as front runners in realizing human rights in Africa. The principles governing the operations of the EAC in meeting its objectives include the promotion and protection of human rights. The EAC has established the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), tasked with interpreting and ensuring the application of the EAC Treaty. This article pinpoints key challenges that the EACJ is currently encountering and tries to find possible solutions which can improve the functioning of the EACJ to effectively protect human rights in the Community.
20
Odinkalu, Chidi Anselm. "Advice without Consent?: Assessing the Advisory Jurisdiction of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights." Human Rights Quarterly 45, no. 3 (August 2023): 365–405. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/hrq.2023.a903333.
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ABSTRACT: Despite enduring prolonged skepticism, Africa’s regional human rights has a complex architecture of institutions, norms, procedures, and jurisprudence. A major entity among these institutions is the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. In existence for over one and a half decades, the Court remains an institution in transition. With an identity defined mostly by its contentious jurisdiction, the significance of its advisory jurisdiction has been neglected. Three hundred eight cases (95.36 percent) of the 323 cases received by the court in its first fifteen years were contentious. The remaining fifteen (less than 5 percent) were advisory. Notwithstanding its relative rarity, the initial evidence suggests that advisory jurisdiction of the African Court could potentially play a significant role in shaping the trajectory of human rights norms in Africa. This article explores the mechanics and potential impact of the advisory jurisdiction of the African Court for the future of human rights in Africa.
21
Manby, Bronwen. "Anudo v. Tanzania (Afr. Ct. H.P.R.)." International Legal Materials 58, no. 3 (June 2019): 603–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ilm.2019.24.
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The case of Anudo v. Tanzania is the first decided by the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights that considers the right to a nationality. The judgment complements existing jurisprudence from the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The Court ruled that Tanzania had arbitrarily deprived the applicant of his nationality and then arbitrarily expelled him from the country.
22
Cavallaro, James L., and Stephanie Erin Brewer. "Reevaluating Regional Human Rights Litigation in the Twenty-First Century: The Case of the Inter-American Court." American Journal of International Law 102, no. 4 (October 2008): 768–827. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/20456681.
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Over the past few decades, regional human rights tribunals have grown in both number and activity. The European Court of Human Rights (European Court or ECHR) now receives tens of thousands of petitions and issues over fifteen hundred judgments on the merits each year. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights recently tripled the number of cases that it resolves annually. At the time of this writing, in mid-2008, Africa’s own regional human rights court, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, prepares to begin hearing its first contentious cases. Currently, sixty-eight states are subject to the decisions of the two established regional courts (forty-seven in Europe and twenty-one in the Americas), up from less than half that number twenty years ago. In the nascent African system, twenty-four African Union member states have ratified the Protocol establishing the African Court, with an additional twenty-five signatory states.
23
Antigegn, Getahun Kumie. "The role of african court on human and peoples’ rights protection: the case of libyan crises." RUDN Journal of Public Administration 6, no. 3 (December 15, 2019): 213–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.22363/2312-8313-2019-6-3-213-222.
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The emergence of regional human rights systems depicts one of the greatest achievements in the internationalization of human rights. The foundation of the charter paved the way for the birth of the court thereafter. The African Court is established by virtue of the 1998 protocol to the Charter and the court is built upon an arsenal of protective and remedial techniques. The establishment of the court has reset the stage and created a new platform for the protection of human rights in Africa. The cardinal objective of the paper is to investigate the role of African Court on human and Peoples’ rights protection in Libya Crises taking the case of Saif Al Islam Gaddafi. The paper has utilized qualitative methodology. The government of Libya responded with brutal force against civilian protesters in contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law. The security force of the government of Libya killed many protesters as well. This situation intensified human rights violations and enforced many of the peoples to displace. The court issued an important ruling in March 2011, ordering provisional measures against Libya in the armed conflict in its territory. Libya government denied the claims of human rights violations in its territory and showed its willingness to subject itself to criminal investigations by the Court if necessary. The issue of the fund, independence, commitment and competence of judges to interpret mandate and jurisdiction, the willingness of the states to support and to abide by court decisions, and powers of the concerned body to enforce court decisions hampered the court from being effective. Generally, African States act in good faith with respect to the decisions of the African Human Rights Court, the court becomes more import.
24
Sarkin, Jeremy. "The African Commission on Human and People's Rights and the future African Court of Justice and Human Rights: Comparative lessons from the European Court of Human Rights." South African Journal of International Affairs 18, no. 3 (November 16, 2011): 281–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10220461.2011.622943.
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Shelton, Dinah. "Konaté v. Burkina Faso." American Journal of International Law 109, no. 3 (July 2015): 630–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.5305/amerjintelaw.109.3.0630.
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In only its second merits judgment, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Court) placed strict limits on penalizing expression, especially that of journalists, in states party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (African Charter). In doing so, the African Court narrowly interpreted the often-criticized “clawback clauses” in the African Charter and relied instead on the tests of necessity, proportionality, and legitimate aim applied by other human rights tribunals to determine the legality of restrictions on rights.
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Rachovitsa, Adamantia. "On New ‘Judicial Animals’: The Curious Case of an African Court with Material Jurisdiction of a Global Scope." Human Rights Law Review 19, no. 2 (June 2019): 255–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/hrlr/ngz010.
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Abstract The article aims to think anew about the jurisdiction ratione materiae of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The Court, based in Arusha, enjoys a distinctive contentious jurisdiction which extends to the interpretation and application of any other relevant human rights instrument ratified by the States concerned. The Court’s striking features set it apart from human rights bodies and most international courts. Its jurisdiction has been received with scepticism and fear arguing that, if the Court extends its jurisdiction over treaties other than the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, this will lead to jurisprudential chaos and will undermine the formation of the African corpus juris. This article discusses the case law of the Court since 2013, when the Court started functioning, and argues that these concerns are over-emphasized. The analysis underlines the shifting authority of specialized and/or regional courts; the need not to overstress but to appreciate positively instances of divergence; and the consideration of new conceptual and geographical topoi, in which international law is to be found and produced.
27
Voievodin, I. "Organizational and legal framework for the protection of environmental human rights within the African Union." Uzhhorod National University Herald. Series: Law 2, no. 72 (November 27, 2022): 219–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.24144/2307-3322.2022.72.68.
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The article analyzes the activities of the African Union (1963-2002 - Organization of African Unity) in the field of protection of environmental human rights – an intergovernmental organization created in 2002 to promote the unity and solidarity among African states, stimulate economic development and promote international cooperation, protect human rights, in particular in the environmental sphere. In particular, the category of environmental human rights includes the right to a healthy, safe and adequate environment, the highest attainable level of physical and mental health, an adequate standard of living, nutrition, the right to clean and safe drinking water, the right to receive information about the state of the environment etc. It was determined that due to the specificity of the African region, the complexity of its socio-economic processes and the existence of humanitarian crises, the protection of environmental human rights is not given sufficient attention, as a result of which the existing organizational and legal mechanism for the protection of such rights is imperfect.
A number of international legal acts adopted under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity and the African Union regarding the promotion, guaranteeing and protection of such rights were analyzed, in particular: the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights of 1981, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child of 1990, the Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within Africa of 1991, Constitutive Act of the African Union of 2000, Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) of 2003, African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources of 2003, Agenda 2063: The Africa we want, etc. It was determined that the basis of the institutional system for the protection of environmental human rights is the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Special Procedures established by the Commission, and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The practice of protecting environmental human rights in the African region was characterized. In accordance with the stated problems, appropriate conclusions and recommendations were made.
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Udombana, Nsongurua J. "So Far, So Fair: The Local Remedies Rule in the Jurisprudence of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights." American Journal of International Law 97, no. 1 (January 2003): 1–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3087102.
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Pending the establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights remains the only institutional body for the implementation of the rights guaranteed in the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), reconstituted as the African Union (AU), established the Commission in 1987, after the entry into force of the African Charter, in 1986, and pursuant to its Article 64 (1). The Commission was established, inter alia, “to promote human and peoples' rights and ensure their protection in Africa.” That is, besides “any other tasks which may be entrusted to it” by the Assembly, the Commission performs three primary functions: it promotes and protects human and peoples' rights and interprets the provisions of the Charter.
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Faix, Martin, and Ayyoub Jamali. "Is the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in an Existential Crisis?" Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights 40, no. 1 (January 13, 2022): 56–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09240519211072424.
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Employing a sociological perspective on the law, this study explores instances of resistance against the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Union’s continental human rights judicial body. This approach allows us to examine different forms of resistance that might not necessarily be of a legal character, but which may still have profound implications for the Court’s authority, legitimacy, and operation. Accordingly, the article identifies two forms of resistance against the African Court: ‘pushback’ and ‘backlash’. The former refers to an ordinary form of critique directed against the overall development of an international court, while the latter is understood as an extraordinary form of critique that puts the fundamental authority of a court at stake. While pushback was mainly seen in the early stages of the Court’s establishment, backlash started to emerge following its ground-breaking judgments that caused heated debates on controversial topics. This article concludes that based on the identified and analysed forms of resistance, it is doubtful that the African Court can maintain and fulfil the purpose for which it was established: the protection and promotion of human rights in Africa.
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Mohamed, Abdelsalam A. "Individual and NGO participation in human rights litigation before the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights: lessons from the European and Inter-American Courts of Human Rights." Journal of African Law 43, no. 2 (1999): 201–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021855300011347.
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In terms of article 6(1) of the Protocol Establishing the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights, the Court may entitle both relevant non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with observer status before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Commission), and individuals to institute directly before it, urgent cases or cases of serious, systematic or massive violations of human rights. In deciding the admissibility of cases brought under article 6(1), the Court may request the opinion of the Commission which must give its opinion as soon as possible. Additionally, article 25(2) of the Protocol provides that the Court may receive written and oral evidence and other representations including expert testimony and it shall make a decision based on such evidence and representations.
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Naldi, Gino J., and Konstantinos D. Magliveras. "The African Court of Justice and Human Rights: A Judicial Curate’s Egg." International Organizations Law Review 9, no. 2 (2012): 383–449. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15723747-00902003.
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The present article analyzes the African Court of Justice and Human Rights, the proposed “main judicial organ of the African Union”. The African Court of Justice and Human Rights is meant to replace the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights and would therefore constitute a unique international judicial body combining the jurisdiction of the judicial organ of an intergovernmental organization with the jurisdiction of a regional human rights court. It shares features of the International Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. In a highly contentious move detrimental to the role of the International Criminal Court, it is currently proposed to extend its jurisdiction over international crimes, the definition of which goes much further than that currently accepted by the international community, raising the prospect of conflicting obligations. The Court’s governing instruments are too ambitious and contain some significant flaws and the case for doing away with the now operational African Court of Human Rights and Peoples’ Rights seems unconvincing. Even though the Court has not yet been established, its structure and mandate do pose many challenging questions that deserve to be thoroughly investigated by drawing comparisons with the existing similar judicial organs in other international organizations.
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Makulilo, Alexander B. "Tanganyika Law Society and the Legal and Human Rights Centre V. Tanzania and rev. Christopher R. Mtikila V. Tanzania (Afr. CT. H.R.)." International Legal Materials 52, no. 6 (December 2013): 1327–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.5305/intelegamate.52.6.1327.
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On June 14, 2013, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Court), in the consolidated matter of Tanganyika Law Society and the Legal and Human Rights Centre v. Tanzania and Rev. Christopher R. Mtikila v. Tanzania, found that the government of Tanzania violated the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) when it prohibited independent candidates from contesting presidential, parliamentary, and local government elections. The case provides insight into the trajectory of the Court and its approach towards the jurisprudence of other international and regional human rights organs.
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Bekker, Gina. "Recent Developments in the African Human Rights System 2011/12." International Human Rights Law Review 1, no. 1 (2012): 158–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22131035-00101004.
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A number of important developments have taken place in the African regional human rights system. This article surveys some of the key developments with respect to human rights within the African Union covering the period from 1 January 2011 to 31 January 2012. Consideration in this regard is given to a number of matters including the extension of the jurisdiction of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights to try international crimes, the issue of lack of individual access to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights as well as the promotional and protectional work of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
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Nmehielle, Vincent O. "‘Saddling’ the New African Regional Human Rights Court with International Criminal Jurisdiction: Innovative, Obstructive, Expedient?" African Journal of Legal Studies 7, no. 1 (May 7, 2014): 7–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/17087384-12342039.
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Abstract This article examines the recent initiative of the African Union (au) to amend the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights that initially merged the African Court of Human Peoples’ Rights with the African Court of Justice of the African Union and to now create a new and holistic regional court – the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights – and endow it with jurisdiction for international crimes. The article principally interrogates three issues: (1) the legality and novelty of the au initiative, (2) the question whether the plan is in any way obstructive or a distraction, and (3) whether the initiative is actually necessary when considered against the wider scheme of effective functioning of the au and its human rights protection regimes. The article finds that while the au’s desire to establish an international crimes chamber within its human rights court may have largely been influenced by the politicisation of the international criminal justice system and its concerns about the icc’s nearly exclusive focus on Africa, there is nothing in international law that prevents the au from embarking on such initiative. However, it is essential for the au to conduct a necessity test, taking a number of issues into account such as adequate resources, credible legal and political commitment, and the opportunity available to member states in the complementarity principle of the Rome Statute of the icc. It is submitted that since Africa, as a regional block, has accepted the Rome Statute regime in large numbers, the au needs to engage with that system in ways that give African states parties credible ownership of justice, as addressing atrocity crimes would largely be achieved within the domestic systems of member states.
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Viljoen, Frans. "UNDERSTANDING AND OVERCOMING CHALLENGES IN ACCESSING THE AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS." International and Comparative Law Quarterly 67, no. 1 (January 2018): 63–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0020589317000513.
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AbstractThis contribution examines access to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in the first decade of its operation. Compared with other regional human rights Courts over the corresponding period, the African Court has decided more contentious cases. Direct access accounts for this difference. Acceptance by States of optional direct access is a necessary but insufficient condition for actual access. The reasons for the Commission's reluctance to refer cases, which hampered indirect access to the Court, are investigated. Although the Court's advisory jurisdiction has found limited application, it has welcomed amici curiae and showed some acceptance of the role of original complainants before the Court.
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Perez-Leon-Acevedo, Juan-Pablo. "Victims and Reparations in International Criminal Justice: African Initiatives." Nordic Journal of International Law 88, no. 4 (November 11, 2019): 525–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15718107-08804004.
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Two important African criminal justice initiatives, namely, the Extraordinary African Chambers (eac) and the International Criminal Law Section of the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights (acjhr-icls), illustrate the trend whereby victims can claim and receive reparations at international/hybrid criminal tribunals (icts). The International Criminal Court (icc) started this trend. This article will examine whether the eac and acjhr-icls can contribute to victims’ status as reparations claimants on substantive, procedural and institutional levels. The eac-Statute as applied in Habré and the acjhr-Statute constitute the primary sources of analysis as complemented by inter alia the law and/or practice of the icc, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (eccc) and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACtHPR). This article generally finds that the realisation of victims’ right to reparations at the eac and acjhr-icls depends on how normative and implementation deficits and challenges are handled.
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Lugard, Sunday Bontur. "The human right to a satisfactory environment and the role of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights." KAS African Law Study Library - Librairie Africaine d’Etudes Juridiques 8, no. 3 (2021): 402–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.5771/2363-6262-2021-3-402.
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Every legally recognized right requires a system for its realization or enforcement. This raises the need for institutions that help in their implementation. The African Court exists as a link between the objectives of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and their realization. In the context of environmental right to a satisfactory environment, the Court alongside its subregional courts, have fared commendably well in their purposive interpretation of the right, though there are still unanswered question regarding the contours of the right. Even though not too many cases have come up for determination based on the article 24 claims, the few reviewed here give credence to the pursuit of the goal of achieving a sustainably clean environment on the continent.
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Polymenopoulou, Eleni. "I. AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS, AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS V GREAT SOCIALIST PEOPLE'S LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA, ORDER FOR PROVISIONAL MEASURES 25 MARCH 2011." International and Comparative Law Quarterly 61, no. 3 (July 2012): 767–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0020589312000255.
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Africa has been struggling for years to establish a mechanism of human rights protection comparable to other international and regional mechanisms. Illiteracy and the low standards of economic development and social welfare, especially in rural areas, as well as the absence of financial resources were certainly not the best grounds to build on. Moreover, as Nmehielle notes, the creation of a human rights mechanism in Africa was equally hinged on other questions, more controversial ones, such as the existence of the concept of ‘law’ and ‘rights’ in pre-colonial Africa.1 In this respect, a Western-style mechanism of human rights protection would be naturally perceived with suspicion, as a form of foreign intervention.
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Rudman, Annika. "THE COMMISSION AS A PARTY BEFORE THE COURT– REFLECTIONS ON THE COMPLEMENTARITY ARRANGEMENT." Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad 19 (June 3, 2016): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2016/v19i0a1225.
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The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has worked as the continent's watchdog, under the ACHPR, for almost 30 years. Much has changed since the time of its inception. More institutions, set to ensure the implementation of the ACHPR, have been added. As the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights became operational, a two-tiered human rights system was created.This article explores the inter-relationship between the ACHPR, the Protocol Establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Procedural Rules of these two institutions within the specific context of the African Commission's mandate to refer communications to the African Court. The aim is to offer a purposeful interpretation of the Procedural Rules governing referrals, guided by the understanding of the principle of complementarity in the preparatory works. The author argues that an appropriate interpretation of complementarity, within the context of referrals, becomes vital in alleviating one of the long-term plagues of the African, protective, human rights system, namely the lack of resources and human capital. It is suggested that the African Commission and the African Court can only be effective if they take proper cognisance of the principle of complementarity, in referring and receiving communications.
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Werle, Gerhard, and Moritz Vormbaum. "African States, the African Union, and the International Criminal Court : A Continuing Story." Volume 60 · 2017 60, no. 1 (January 1, 2018): 17–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.3790/gyil.60.1.17.
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This article analyses the strained relationship between African States, the African Union, and the International Criminal Court. It starts by scrutinising the allegations of ‘anti-Africa bias’ that the African Union and some African States have voiced towards the International Criminal Court. Then it looks at the threat of a pull-out of certain African States parties from the ICC Statute after Burundi, South Africa, and The Gambia declared in October 2016 that they were planning to withdraw from the Court. Finally, it analyses the Malabo Protocol, an initiative by the African Union which aims to create criminal chambers in the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights, simply put: an ‘African Criminal Court’.
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Chenwi, Lilian. "Women´s Representation and Rights in the African Court." Age of Human Rights Journal, no. 18 (June 23, 2022): 345–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.17561/tahrj.v18.6896.
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The African Union and African states’ have committed to upholding gender equality and women’s rights. A pivotal mechanism for advancing this commitment and human rights in general is the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, with its broad substantive jurisdiction. This article considers the legal basis for gender parity and the extent to which gender representation and women’s rights has been advanced through or by the Court. It establishes that though the Court’s jurisprudence on women’s right is quite scant, the Court has illustrated its potential and willingness to protect women’s rights through its advisory and contentious jurisdiction. Significant strides have also been made in attaining gender equality on the Court’s bench, but with more to be done in terms of substantive representation in the Court’s leadership positions.
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Boka, Melkisedeck Lyamuya. "The Fruitfulness of Article 34(6) of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples` Rights on the Establishment of an ACHPR and its Bitter Pill to State Parties." ABC Research Alert 1, no. 1 (April 15, 2013): Tanzania. http://dx.doi.org/10.18034/ra.v1i1.245.
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In this paper a reader will be equipped with the background of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights “ACHPR”, the relationship between ACHPR and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the deposition of Special Declaration by state parties granting direct access her nationals to the ACHPR and its effect thereto, the comparative analysis ACHPR and its sisters Courts, and the way forward.
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Okafor, Obiora C., and Godwin EK Dzah. "The African human rights system as 'norm leader': Three case studies." African Human Rights Law Journal 21, no. 2 (December 31, 2021): 1–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/1996-2096/2021/v21n2a27.
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Africa (including its human rights system) is rarely imagined or considered an originator, agent and purveyor of ideas, including in the human rights sphere. On this occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the adoption of the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights which founded the African human rights system, it is only fitting that its contributions or otherwise to global human rights praxis, over these four decades, be examined from this perspective. Utilising the theory of the norm life cycle, developed by scholars of international relations who work within 'strategic social constructivism', this article examines how the African human rights system has, or has not, functioned as a 'norm leader' with regard to certain important and increasingly widely-accepted human rights standards. To that extent, the article examines (as examples) certain human rights norms first elaborated and made into legally-binding forms in the African Charter, widely circulated and having achieved a considerable level of global dispersal and adoption, in part, as a result of the work of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. Focusing on three important norms (the right to self-determination, the right to development and the right to the environment) and based on a study of academic and other literature, treaties or instruments, case law and records of international negotiations, the article attempts to respond systematically to this overarching question. The article argues that although the African human rights system clearly is not a state, the critical but globally under-appreciated roles it has played regarding the globalised socialisation of certain human rights ideas fits within, and helps in extending, social constructivist human rights theory and praxis. The article concludes with a reflection on some key limitations that are observable as to how far the system has been able to travel in the direction of norm leadership in human rights law.
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Makunya, Trésor Muhindo. "Decisions of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights during 2020: Trends and lessons." African Human Rights Law Journal 21, no. 2 (December 31, 2021): 1–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/1996-2096/2021/v21n2a49.
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The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights has made considerable progress in its jurisprudential activities in the year 2020. Between January and December 2020 the African Court delivered 55 decisions and received 40 new cases and one request for an advisory opinion. The swift response the African Court adopted to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in holding three out of four sessions virtually has enabled the Court to reduce the backlog of cases. This article examines the main features of decisions the African Court adopted in 2020. It analyses trends emerging from them and draws possible lessons. The Court's 2020 decisions give an opportunity to critically review the jurisprudential direction of the Court, the number and types of decisions rendered, the quality of the protection of human and peoples' rights it offered as well as its normative contribution to the human rights corpus. While the Court has boldly and uncompromisingly asserted its authority over sensitive domestic issues - prompting four states so far to withdraw their declarations allowing individuals and non-governmental organisations to approach it directly - the Court's 2020 decisions persuasively demonstrate that it has not shied away from its mandate to hold states and their organs to the obligations to which they have committed under international human rights law.
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Chula, Liza. "East African Court of Justice and Human Rights Jurisdiction: Drawing the Line." Strathmore Law Review 3, no. 1 (June 1, 2018): 1–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.52907/slr.v3i1.100.
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Human rights in Africa have gradually gained a place of recognition few could have foreseen only a decade ago. With the promotion and protection of human rights entrenched deep in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, African states have a duty to uphold this principle in the larger goal of regional economic integration. The East African Court of Justice (EACJ), a regional court, has thus assumed the role of a watchdog in breathing life into these provisions, safeguarding the rule of law and ensuring everyone plays by the rules. It is unfortunate that these watchdogs can then lack the most important tool in steering the ship – jurisdiction. This paper, through a detailed analysis of literature review, tackles the pertinent question of whether the court has jurisdiction to handle human rights cases and arrives at the conclusion that an express mandate is lacking, but there is a somewhat implied mandate. Nonetheless, a clear articulation of the EACJ’s mandate is necessary to enable it to address issues effectively and efficiently.
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Ssenyonjo, Manisuli. "Direct Access to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights by Individuals and Non Governmental Organisations: An Overview of the Emerging Jurisprudence of the African Court 2008-2012." International Human Rights Law Review 2, no. 1 (2013): 17–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22131035-00201002.
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Articles 5(3) and 34(6) of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights require that an application before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Court) will not be ‘received’ unless two conditions are fulfilled. First, the application must be filed against a State which has ratified the Protocol. Second, an application can be received only against a State which made an optional declaration accepting the competence of the Court to receive cases from Non Governmental organisations (NGOs) with observer status before the Commission and individuals. The vast majority of State parties to the Protocol have not filed (and are not likely to file in the near future) a declaration to allow NGOs and individuals, most likely to bring human rights cases before the Court, direct access to the Court. This article examines the impact of the limitation imposed on direct access to the Court by individuals and NGOs on the African Court’s jurisdiction by considering the applications decided by the Court since it started its operations in 2006 up to December 2012. It is argued that the limitation is a major challenge currently facing the Court and that it has adversely affected the exercise of the Court’s jurisdiction. It is concluded that allowing NGOs and individuals direct access to the Court will make a significant contribution to the attainment of the objectives of the African Charter and the Court’s Protocol.
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Kioko, Ben. "Perspective from the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights." Journal of Human Rights Practice 12, no. 1 (February 1, 2020): 163–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/huaa015.
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Abstract This practice note seeks to highlight the experience of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in monitoring and ensuring the implementation of its decisions. It outlines the implementation mechanisms in place, some specific areas and judgments and their status of implementation. An attempt is also made to outline the tools that have worked, challenges, and key lessons to be learned.
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Mujuzi, Jamil Ddamulira. "A Prisoner’s Right to be Released or Placed on Parole: A Comment on Öcalan v Turkey (No. 2) (18 March 2014)." Baltic Journal of Law & Politics 9, no. 1 (June 1, 2016): 69–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/bjlp-2016-0004.
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Abstract The European Convention on Human Rights does not provide for a prisoner’s right to parole and no international or regional human rights instrument provides for this right. However, recently, in the case of Öcalan v Turkey (No. 2), one of the judges of the European Court of Human Rights interpreted the European Convention on Human Rights as providing for a prisoner’s right to parole. This is the first time that a judge of this court, and to the author’s best knowledge, a judge of a regional or international court, has expressly held that a prisoner has the right to parole. The author assesses this holding in the light of the jurisprudence or practice on the right to parole from the Human Rights Committee, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. In order to put the discussion in context, the author also highlights jurisprudence emanating from the European Court of Human Rights relevant to the relationship between parole and other human rights. The author recommends that the time has come for the right to parole to be recognised in human rights instruments.
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Nkhata, Mwiza Jo. "Res judicata and the Admissibility of Applications before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights: a Fresh Look at Dexter Eddie Johnson v. Republic of Ghana." Law & Practice of International Courts and Tribunals 19, no. 3 (November 27, 2020): 470–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15718034-12341432.
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Abstract In Dexter Eddie Johnson v. Republic of Ghana, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Court), for only the second time in its history, applied Article 56(7) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Charter) to declare a case inadmissible. The Court reasoned that the case was inadmissible since the applicant had first approached, and obtained a determination, from the United Nations Human Rights Committee before lodging his case with the Court. This article analyses the Court’s decision and attempts to unpack the Court’s interpretation and application of the doctrine of res judicata, which is the essence of the requirement in Article 56(7) of the Charter.
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Tambasi Netya, Sidney, and Cynthia Gathoni Miano. "Reflections on Direct Access to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights: A Cul De Sac?" Strathmore Law Review 6, no. 1 (September 1, 2021): 103–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.52907/slr.v6i1.164.
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Individuals and NGOs can directly access the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights if the state against which a case has been filed has made an optional declaration granting this access. Alternatively, they can access the Court if the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights refers communications to it. However, two main barriers have riddled this structure. One, the few states that had made the optional declaration have begun to rapidly withdraw from it. Two, the African Commission, which was expected to mitigate such a situation where few states are making the optional declaration, is hardly referring cases to the Court. This paper examines these two barriers in tandem. It argues that if this status quo is sustained, then, sooner rather than later, this path treaded may lead the African human rights system to a cul-de-sac – back to a one tier system, composed of an accessible Commission and a Court inaccessible to both individuals and NGOs. Drawing lessons from the European and Inter-American Human Rights system, it recommends preventing this eventuality by amending the African Commission’s 2020 Rules of Procedure to provide for a default procedure of referral of cases from the Commission to the Court.