The House of Representatives and the Senate are reviewing a protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, also known simply as the African Court.
President Joseph N. Boakai, Sr., submitted the protocol recently to the Legislature for ratification.
“l am pleased to submit for ratification by the Honorable Legislature Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights,” the President said in a communication sent to the Legislature.
This court, also referred to as the African Court, was established in 1998 to protect human and peoples’ rights per international human rights instruments. The Protocol outlines the court’s jurisdiction over cases related to the interpretation and application of the African Charter and relevant human rights instruments.
The Protocol received its first reading in the session of the House of Representatives on Thursday, June 27, 2024, following the communication from President Joseph N. Boakai, Sr.
Liberia is one of those states that participated in the negotiation of the African Charter and the Protocol establishing the Court. Liberia signed the Protocol on June 9, 1998, but has yet to ratify the instrument.
When ratified, Liberia will have the opportunity to nominate judges to the African Court, thus contributing to its institutional setup and strengthening its capacity to address human rights issues.
The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, based in Arusha, Tanzania, serves as the judicial arm of the African Union and complements the functions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The court has the authority to issue advisory opinions and adjudicate cases regarding human rights violations. The Liberian House of Representatives and the Senate have tasked a Joint Committee to review the Protocol and report back before the legislative recess in July 2024.
The African Court on Human and People’s Rights, also known simply as the African Court, is an international court established by member states of the African Union (AU) to implement provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (also known as the Banjul Charter). Seated in Arusha, Tanzania, it is the judicial arm of the AU and one of three regional human rights courts (together with the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights).
The African Court’s mandate is to complement and reinforce the functions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, a quasi-judicial body that monitors the implementation of the charter and recommends cases to the court. It has jurisdiction over all cases and disputes submitted to it concerning the interpretation and application of the Banjul Charter, the protocol to the charter, and any other human-applicable human rights instrument. The court can issue advisory opinions on legal matters and adjudicate contentious cases.
The court is composed of eleven judges nominated by member states of the AU and elected by the latter’s Assembly of Heads of State and Government. Judges serve six-year terms and may only be re-elected once. The president of the court resides and works full-time in Arusha, while the other ten judges work on a part-time basis. Registry, managerial, and administrative functions are executed by a registrar.
Thirty-four African countries have ratified the protocol establishing the African Court, of which only nine have made a special declaration allowing individuals and NGOs to submit cases directly to the court: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda, Tanzania, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Tunisia, and the Gambia; otherwise, cases must be submitted to the African Commission, which then determines whether to refer it to the court.
As of September 2021, the African Court has delivered 259 decisions, including 131 judgments and 128 orders, and has 217 pending cases.
As of January 2019, nine state parties to the protocol have made a declaration recognizing the competence of the Court to receive cases from non-government organizations (NGOs) and individuals. The nine states are Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, the Gambia and Tunisia.[Altogether, 34 states have ratified the protocol: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Libya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Nigeria, Niger, Rwanda, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zambia.
Côte d’Ivoire announced that it was withdrawing from the court in April 2020, after the tribunal ordered the government to suspend an arrest warrant for Guillaume Soro.
Meanwhile, the House’s Joint Committee on Judiciary, Good Governance and Government Reform, Executive, and Foreign Affairs have been mandated by Plenary to review the Protocol and report in two weeks before the 55th Legislature goes for its second recess on Friday, July 19, 2024.
Meanwhile, the decision to ratify the Protocol would allow individuals and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to access the African Court and contribute to shaping its role in addressing human rights violations.
