The African Human Rights Judicial System

This book deals with two interconnected yet often forgotten realities of the constitutional order in Africa: first, the ‘foreign affairs power’ that gives the specific organs of the State the capacity to create and empower universal, regional and sub-regional governance and judicial structures. Secondly, the ‘international judicial function in Africa’, with a specific focus on the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the upcoming merger with the African Court of Justice to form one court: The African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The African human rights system has undergone some remarkable developments since the adoption of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the cornerstone of the African human rights system, in June 1981. The year2011 marked the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the African Charter. It also marked 25 years since the African Charter entered into force on 21 October 1986.This book aims to provide reflections on most of the major human rights issues in the past 30 years of the African human rights system in practice and discussion on the future: the African Charter s impact and contribution to the respect, protection and promotion of human rights in Africa; the contemporary challenges faced by the African Human rights system in responding adequately to the demands of rapidly evolving African societies; and how the African human rights system can be strengthened in the future to ensure that the human rights protected in the African Charter, as developed in the jurisprudence of the African Commission since the Commission was inaugurated in 1987, are realised in practice.The chapters in this volume bring together the work of 20 human rights scholars and practitioners, with expertise in human rights in Africa, under the following general themes: rights and duties in the African Charter; rights of the vulnerable under the African system; implementation mechanisms for human rights in Africa; and towards an effective African regional human rights system.

This volume analyses the prospects and challenges of the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights in context. The book is for all readers interested in African institutions and contemporary global challenges of peace, security, human rights, and international law. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

This volume is a comprehensive treatment of the African human rights system in terms of the laws, practice, and institutions of the system. The volume discusses, analyzes, and evaluates normative instruments of the African system: the Charter of the Organization of the African Unity (OAU), and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, presenting article-by-article analysis of its provisions and those of the Protocol on the Establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. Similarly the OAU (now the African Union), the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, and the proposed African Court on Human Rights, as institutions of the system, are discussed. The book emphasizes a comparative approach and presents a summary of the UN, the European and the Inter-American human rights mechanisms with regard to their impact on the African system. The role of NGOs in the African system is also considered, as well as the controversial issue of human rights in pre-colonial and colonial Africa.

Whilst the establishment of the African human rights system was a good gesture that signalled the recognition of the value and essence of international human rights in the continent, a continuous study of the system has become necessary. This is particularly in light of the fact that the continent is in desperate need of well established and effective regional human rights enforcement mechanisms. At the moment, the regional human rights system is stuck between prospects and pitfalls because of the gap that exists between the promise of human rights and their actual realisation. By all means, this trend needs to be reversed. The main objective and purpose of this book is to underscore the challenges besetting the effective enforcement of international human rights law in Africa and the prospects and promises of an effective regional human rights system.

"African civil law countries are traditionally described as monist and common law countries as dualist. This book illustrates that the monism-dualism dichotomy is too simplistic, in particular in the field of human rights. Academics and practitioners from across the continent illustrate how domestic courts in Africa have engaged with international human rights law to interpret or fill gaps in national bills of rights. The authors also consider the challenges encountered in increasing the use of international human rights law by African domestic courts."--Back cover.

4. Right to Peace.