Institutional Framework for Human Rights Protection in Africa: The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights

The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACtHPR) is an institution of fundamental significance to the African system of human rights protection, established to support and complement the actions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). Its emergence is a result of a complex historical and political process dating back to the 1960s and 1970s, at the time of African decolonisation. The process involved the struggle for the independence of African states, the development of anti-colonial movements and a growing awareness of the need to protect human rights on the continent. In response to these challenges, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which later became the African Union (AU), were created to play a crucial role in promoting human rights.
The African Court was founded by a protocol to the ACHPR to act as a judicial authority protecting human rights, a major addition to the African Commission’s actions. The body wields an extensive jurisdiction that includes the interpretation and application of the African Charter and other human rights instruments ratified by African states. Its operation rests on working with the AU; however, its effectiveness is restricted by political and economic challenges faced by African states. Nonetheless, the creation of the African Court was an important step towards a stronger human rights protection on the continent and opened new opportunities for enforcing these rights in the region. Although it plays a key role in promoting human rights, the evaluations of its effectiveness vary. On the one hand, it is seen as an institution capable of fostering the legal awareness and obligations of the African states regarding human rights, while, on the other hand, some critics fear that it may lack sufficient potential to face the challenges of chronic problems afflicting the continent, such as military conflicts, political instability or poverty. Despite these fears, the Court remains the central element of the African system of human rights protection, and its importance to the future of human rights in Africa is bound to grow.

Keywords: African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, human rights protection, the regional system of human rights protection, international jurisdiction