The African Human Rights Court: A Two-Legged Stool?

Authors

Makau Mutua, University at Buffalo School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1999

Rights

Abstract

This article examines the African continental human rights system that is built on the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. It pays particular attention to the deficits of that system and argues that the establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights – a judicial body meant to strengthen the protection of human rights in Africa – falls far short. It exposes the normative and structural shortcomings that render the court virtually meaningless. It concludes that the court serves very little purpose except to address the enormous human rights challenges facing Africa.

DOI

10.1353/hrq.1999.0027

Publication Title

Human Rights Quarterly

First Page

342

Last Page

363

Comments

Copyright © 1999 The Johns Hopkins University Press. This article was first published in Human Rights Quarterly 21.2 (1999), 342–363. Reprinted with permission by Johns Hopkins University Press.

Required Text

Copyright © 1999 The Johns Hopkins University Press. This article was first published in Human Rights Quarterly 21.2 (1999), 342–363. Reprinted with permission by Johns Hopkins University Press.

Recommended Citation

Makau Mutua, The African Human Rights Court: A Two-Legged Stool?, 21 Hum. Rts. Q. 342 (1999).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/journal_articles/567