Suchergebnisse

Executive Council Thirty-Fourth Ordinary Session 7 – 8 February 2019 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ; The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Court) was established in terms of Article 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 (hereinafter referred to as "the Protocol"), adopted on 9 June 1998, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, by the then Organization of African Unity (OAU). The Protocol entered into force on 25 January 2004. The Court became operational in 2006 and is composed of eleven (11) Judges elected by the Executive Council and appointed by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union. The Seat of the Court is in Arusha, the United Republic of Tanzania. Article 31 of the Protocol mandates the Court to "…submit to each regular session of the Assembly, a report on its work. The report shall specify, in particular, the cases in which a State has not complied with the Court's judgment.

Introduction -- The political context for human rights in Africa -- The Protocol to the African Charter on the Establishment of an African Court -- The relationship between the African Commission and the African Court -- Structure, mandate and composition of the African Court -- Conclusion

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.

"The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (AfCHPR - 'Court') was operationalized in July 2006 with the swearing-in of the first eleven judges. In December 2009 it pronounced its first judgment. The institutional development of the Court faces numerous challenges that derive from the legal framework under which the Court operates, the complexity of the human rights protection mechanisms in Africa, and, on a daily basis, the shortcomings of technical infrastructure. The primary future challenges for the Court are to attain more visibility and receive more cases." (author's abstract)