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African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights

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The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Court) is a continental court established by African
countries to ensure protection of human and peoples' rights in Africa. It complements and reinforces the functions
of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.[1]

The Court was established by virtue 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 (the Protocol), which was
adopted by Member States of the then Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in
June 1998. The Protocol came into force on 25 January 2004 after it was ratified by more than 15 countries.

States Parties to the Protocol had made the declaration recognizing the competence of the Court to receive
cases from NGOs and individuals. The seven states are Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Malawi,
Rwanda and Tanzania. The following thirty states have ratified the Protocol: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso,
Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya,
Libya, Lesotho, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Nigeria, Niger, Rwanda, Sahrawi Arab
Democratic Republic, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia and Uganda.

The Court has jurisdiction over all cases and disputes submitted to it concerning the interpretation and
application of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Charter), the Protocol and any other
relevant human rights instrument ratified by the States concerned. Specifically, the Court has two types of
jurisdiction: contentious and advisory.

The Court is composed of eleven Judges, nationals of member states of the African Union. The first Judges of
the Court were elected in January 2006, in Khartoum, Sudan. They were sworn in before the Assembly of Heads
of State and Government of the African Union on 2 July 2006, in Banjul, the Gambia. The Judges of the Court
are elected, after nomination by their respective states, in their individual capacities from among African jurists of
proven integrity and of recognized practical, judicial or academic competence and experience in the field of
human rights. The judges are elected for a six-year or four-year term renewable once. The judges of the Court
elect a President and Vice-President of the Court among themselves who serve a two-year term. They can be re-
elected only once. The President of the Court resides and works on a full-time basis at the seat of the Court,
while the other ten judges work on a part-time basis. In the accomplishment of his duties, the President is
assisted by a Registrar who performs registry, managerial and administrative functions of the Court.

The Court officially started its operations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in November 2006, but in August 2007 it
moved to its seat in Arusha, the United Republic of Tanzania, where the government has provided it with
temporary premises pending the construction of a permanent structure. Between 2006 and 2008, the Court dealt
principally with operational and administrative issues, including the development of the structure of the Court's
registry, preparation of its budget and drafting of its Interim Rules of Procedure. In 2008, during the Court's Ninth
Ordinary Session, judges of the Court provisionally adopted the Interim Rules of the Court pending consultation
with the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, based in Banjul, Gambia in order to harmonize their
rules to achieve the purpose of the provisions of the Protocol establishing the Court, which requires that the two
institutions must harmonize their respective Rules so as to achieve the intended complementarity between the
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African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. This
harmonization process was completed in April 2010 and in June 2010, the Court adopted its final Rules of Court.

According to the Protocol (Article 5) and the Rules (Rule 33), the Court may receive complaints and/or
applications submitted to it either by the African Commission of Human and Peoples' Rights or State parties to
the Protocol or African Intergovernmental Organizations. Non-Governmental Organizations with observer status
before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and individuals from States which have made a
Declaration accepting the jurisdiction of the Court can also institute cases directly before the Court. As of March
2014, only seven countries had made such a declaration. Those countries are Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi,
Mali, Rwanda, Tanzania and Republic of Côte d'Ivoire.

The Court delivered its first judgment in 2009 following an application dated 11 August 2008 by Michelot
Yogogombaye against the Republic of Senegal. As at January, 2016, the Court received 74 applications and
finalized 25 cases. Currently the Court has five pending cases on its table to examine including requests for
advisory opinion.

Contents [hide]
1 Mission
2 Mandate
3 Vision
4 Core values
5 Strategic objectives
6 Election of judges
7 Location
8 Jurisdiction
9 Judgements
10 Composition of the Court
11 Former judges
12 Planned merger with the African Court of Justice
13 See also
14 References
15 External links

Mission [ edit ]

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights was established to complement and reinforce the functions of
the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the African Commission – often referred to as the Banjul
Commission), which is a quasi-judicial body charged with monitoring the implementation of the Charter.

Mandate [ edit ]

The mission of the Court is to enhance the protective mandate of the African Commission on Human and
Peoples' Rights by strengthening the human rights protection system in Africa and ensuring respect for and
compliance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, as well as other international human rights
instruments, through judicial decisions.

Vision [ edit ]

The vision of the Court is an Africa with a viable human rights culture.

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Core values [ edit ]

Judicial independence from any partisanship, bias, influence, whether it comes from States, NGOs, funding
agencies or individuals.
Fair and impartial application and interpretation of the provisions of the African Charter, the Protocol, the
Rules and other relevant international human rights instruments.
Transparent and ethical accountability in the operations of the Court.
Fundamental rights of every individual to enjoy basic civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights are
upheld.
Collaboration with relevant stakeholders in pursuance of the Court's objective of protecting human and
peoples' rights.
Non-discrimination and equality in performance of the work of the Court.
Integrity of the Judges and staff working at the Court.
Provide equal access to all potential users of the Court.
Be responsive to the needs of those who approach the Court.

Strategic objectives [ edit ]

Exercise jurisdiction in all cases and disputes brought before it concerning the interpretation and application
of the Charter, the protocol and any other relevant instrument relating to human rights ratified by the States
concerned;
Collaborate with sub-regional and national judicial bodies to enhance the protection of human rights on the
continent;
To enhance the participation of the African people in the work of the Court;
To enhance the capacity of the Registry of the Court to be able to fulfill its mandate; and
To enhance working relationship between the Court and the African Commission.

Election of judges [ edit ]

On January 22, 2006, the Eighth Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union elected the first
eleven Judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Judges are normally elected for six-year terms and can be re-elected once. The President and Vice-President
are elected to two-year terms and can be re-elected once.

The Court had its First Ordinary Session from July 2–5, 2006 in Banjul, the Gambia.

Location [ edit ]

The Court is located in Arusha, Tanzania, at the Phase II of the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Conservation Centre
Complex along Dodoma Road.

Jurisdiction [ edit ]

The Court has jurisdiction to determine applications against state parties of the Court Protocol. To date, 30 states
have ratified the protocol: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Comoros,
Republic of the Congo, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Nigeria, Niger, Uganda, Rwanda, Arab Saharawi Republic, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo
and Tunisia.[2]

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An application against these states may be made by the African Commission or African inter-governmental
organisations.

Where a state has made a declaration accepting the right of individual application, an individual or NGO with
observer status before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights may make an application. Seven
states have made the declaration: Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda and Tanzania.[2]

Judgements [ edit ]

On December 15, 2009, the Court delivered its first judgment, finding an application against Senegal
inadmissible.[3]

The Court's first judgement on the merits of a case was issued on June 14, 2013, in a case involving Tanzania. It
found Tanzania had violated its citizens' rights to freely participate in government directly or through
representatives regardless of their party affiliation, and ordered Tanzania to take constitutional, legislative, and all
other measures necessary to remedy these violations.[4][5]

On March 28, 2014, the Court ruled against Burkina Faso, in a case brought by the family of Norbert Zongo, a
newspaper editor who was murdered in 1998. The court found that Burkina Faso had failed to properly
investigate the murder, and had failed in its obligations to protect journalists.[6][7]

Composition of the Court [ edit ]

Name State Position Elected Term ends

Justice Sylvain Oré Côte d'Ivoire President 2010 2016
Justice Ben Kioko Kenya Vice President 2012 2018
Justice El Hadji Guissé Senegal Judge 2012 2018
Justice Rafââ Ben Achour Tunisia Judge 2014 2020
Justice Solomy Balungi Bossa Uganda Judge 2014 2020
Justice Angelo Vasco Matusse Mozambique Judge 2014 2020
Justice Ntyam Mengue Cameroon Judge 2016 2022
Justice Marie Thérèse Mukamulisa Rwanda Judge 2016 2022
Justice Tujilane Chizumila Malawi Judge 2017 2023
Justice Bensaoula Chafika Algeria Judge 2017 2023

Former judges [ edit ]

Name State Position Elected Term ended

George W. Kanyeihamba Uganda Judge 2006 2008
Jean Emile Somda Burkina Faso Judge 2006 2008
Githu Muigai Kenya Judge 2008 2010
Hamdi Faraj Fannoush Libya Judge 2006 2010
Kellelo Justina Mafoso-Guni Lesotho Judge 2006 2010
Sophia A.B. Akuffo Ghana President 2012 2014
Jean Mutsinzi Rwanda President 2008 2010
Justice Gérard Niyungeko Burundi President 2006 2012
Bernard Ngoepe South Africa Judge 2006 2014
Joseph Nyamihana Mulenga Uganda Judge 2008 2014
Justice Fatsah Ouguergouz Algeria Judge 2006 2016

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Justice Duncan Tambala Malawi Judge 2010 2016

Justice Augustino S. L. Ramadhani Tanzania President 2010 2016
Justice Elsie Nwanwuri Thompson Nigeria Vice-President 2010 2016

Planned merger with the African Court of Justice [ edit ]

On July 1, 2008, at the African Union Summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Heads of State and Government signed
a protocol[8] on the merger of the AfCHPR with the still non-existent African Court of Justice following a decision
by member states at a June 2004 African Union Summit. As of 3 February 2014, only five countries have ratified
the protocol out of 15 needed for its entry into force.[9]The new court will be known as the African Court of Justice
and Human Rights.

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