African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights

Description

The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, known as the African Court, is an international court established by member states of the African Union. It implements the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, also called the Banjul Charter. It is seated in Arusha, Tanzania, and is one of three regional human rights courts, alongside the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

The Court was created under a 1998 protocol to the Banjul Charter, which came into force in January 2004. Its first judges were elected in 2006, and it issued its first judgment in 2009. The Court complements the work of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, a quasi-judicial body that monitors implementation of the Charter and can refer cases to it.

The Court has jurisdiction over the interpretation and application of the Banjul Charter and other human rights instruments ratified by the states concerned. It can issue advisory opinions and adjudicate contentious cases. It is made up of eleven judges, nominated by member states and elected by the African Union’s Assembly of Heads of State and Government to renewable six-year terms.

Cases can be brought by the African Commission, by African inter-governmental organisations, or by states. Individuals and non-governmental organizations with observer status before the Commission may only bring cases directly against states that have made a special declaration accepting this right. The Court has ruled on cases including Tanzania’s electoral law, the murder of a Burkina Faso journalist, and the eviction of the Ogiek people in Kenya.