LibGuides: Public International Law Research: African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights

General Overview

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Right ("ACHPR") came into force on January 25, 2004 and was established via Article I of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (the "Protocol"). The court's chief purpose is to enhance the protective mandate of African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the "Charter") by strengthening the human rights protection system in Africa.

Currently, nine of the thirty States Parties to the Charter have recognized the competence of the court to receive cases from NGOs and individuals. The following chart illustrates the jurisdiction of the ACHPR:

Contentious Jurisdiction

Under Article 3 of the Protocol, the Court has jurisdiction to deal with all cases and disputes submitted to it regarding the interpretation and application of the Charter, the Protocol, and any other relevant human rights instrument ratified by the concerned States.

Advisory Jurisdiction

Under Article 4 of the Protocol, the Court may, at the request of a Member State of the African Union, any of the organs of the African Union, or any African organization recognized by the African Union, provide an opinion on any legal matter relating to the Charter or any other relevant human rights instruments, provided that the subject matter of the opinion is not related to a matter being examined by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Note: In 2009, the African Union began to explore the possibility of merging the ACHPR into a larger court, the African Court of Justice and Human Rights, that would also have jurisdiction to try international crimes. This enlarged judicial body would also have the authority to consider cases of unconstitutional change or prolongation of government as new crimes. You can view the proposed court's status and founding documents here, but this court is not yet operational.

Online ACHPR Primary Materials

Online Primary ACHPR Materials

Core Texts of the ACHPR

The following collection contains the main legal tools that provide for the creation and maintenance of the ACHPR. These materials include the rules of court, practice directions, and the underlying foundation documents for the court:

African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the "Charter")
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (the "Protocol")
Rules of the Court
Practice Directions

If you are interested in other documents related to the work of the ACHPR, please visit this link. The "Other Relevant Documents" page on the ACHPR's website links to conventions on the rights of children and women, resolutions on terrorism, a common defense pact, and a convention governing African refugees.

Cases

The ACHPR's website also provides access to the judicial decisions of the court. These decisions include rulings on both contentious matters and advisory proceedings. In addition to court orders and decisions, you will also find links to statistical overviews of the court's caseload and a variety of related court filings for each case.

Contentious Matters
Advisory Proceedings

Other Publications

The ACHPR's website also provides access to publications of the court. These publications include the following types of content:

Activity Reports - These reports will likely be of great use to researchers, as they provide concise overviews of the caseload handled by the ACPHR each year. Each case is listed in a table, along with summaries of court orders and updates on the implementation (or nonimplementation) of the court's decisions in the respective countries that were a party to the suit.
African Human Rights Yearbook - This publication is a collection of essays from scholars and is currently contained in a two volume set, which is downloadable for free online. The African Human Rights Yearbook seeks to provide a forum for "constructive engagement about the African human rights system with academics and other human rights commentators on the continent" and is published with the support of the the ACHPR, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
Other Reports - This category provides access to reports targeting larger African human rights issues of importance to the court. For instance, there is a Final Communique detailing the outcomes of the 3rd African Judicial Dialogue on the theme of "Improving Judicial Efficiency in Africa."

Secondary Sources

The African Union - Legal and Institutional Framework by Abdulqawi A. Yusuf; Fatsah Ouguergouz
NOTE: Chapter 6 is solely about the African Court of Justice and Human Rights.

This work is an introduction to the origins, law and institutions of the African Union (AU). It examines the evolution, structures, legal standards and operational activities of this Pan-African organization, which replaced the Organization of African Unity (OAU) 10 years ago. Although the AU came into being in 2001, so far there is no comprehensive work which addresses the institution, its organs and structures, the scope of its operations, its legal framework and the normative standards underpinning its objectives and functions or those underlying the conventions, charters and protocols it has enacted or inherited from its predecessor, the OAU. It is the aim of this work to fill that void. It has been conceived as a manual, and not as a scholarly treatise, so as to serve as a basic introduction to the institutional and legal framework of the AU and its affiliated organizations. It is meant to offer a concise and clear picture of the nature and workings of a continental institution aimed not only at promoting peace and unity in Africa but also at ensuring human security, development, human rights protection and good governance for the peoples of Africa.
International Human Rights Law in Africa by Frans Viljoen
ISBN: 9780199645589
Publication Date: 2012-06-18
This book provides a comprehensive and analytical overview of human rights law in Africa. It examines the institutions, norms, and processes for human rights realization provided for under the United Nations system, the African Union, and sub-regional economic communities in Africa, and explores their relationship with the national legal systems of African states. This book examines the case law stemming from Africa's most important human rights instrument, the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, which entered into force on 21 October1986. This new edition contains a new chapter on the African Children's Rights Committee as well as full coverage of new developments and instruments, such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on Enforced Disappearances, and the African Charter on Democracy,Elections and Governance.
The African Court of Human Rights and Peoples' Rights by S. Fennell (Editor); D. Andoni (Editor)
ISBN: 9789462400009
Publication Date: 2014-02-15
The creation of a human rights court for Africa offers significant opportunities to secure a better life for all on the continent. So far, the potential of the African Court of Human Rights and Peoples' Rights (AfCHPR) in complementing the protective mandate of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACommHPR) has remained largely unexplored. In the only case submitted to it, the Court correctly - but through an inordinately protracted process - concluded that it did not have jurisdiction to deal with the matter. There are several reasons for this dearth of cases. A major reason is that some of the States that are most frequently found in violation of their Charter obligations by the ACommHPR have not yet ratified the AfCHPR Protocol. Therefore, the ACommHPR cannot transfer these cases to the AfCHPR. Regardless of the lack of cases and power of the court, it is interesting to get a firm understanding of the documents that underlie the establishment of the AfCHPR to be able to compare them to already existing courts. This book examines these basic documents. [Subject: International Law, African Law, Human Rights Law]
Human Rights in Africa by Rachel Murray
ISBN: 0521839173
Publication Date: 2004-12-09
This work examines the role of the Organization of African Unity, now the African Union, and how it has dealt with human rights since its inception in 1963. It considers the role of its main institutions both under the OAU and its transformation into the African Union. The book is divided into chapters examining various themes including the rights of women, the rights of the child, the concept of democracy and the right to development. Written by a leading human rights scholar, this book is essential reading for lawyers acting for African states, and for foreign governments and NGOs active in Africa, as well as being of interest to international and comparative human rights scholars.