The African Court of Justice and Human Rights (ACJHR) is an

international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

and

regional court In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

.The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
. It was founded in 2004 by a merger of the

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights The African Court on Human and Peoples' 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 ...

and the

Court of Justice of the African Union The Court of Justice of the African Union was originally intended to be the "principal judicial organ" of the African Union (Protocol of the Court of Justice of the African Union, Article 2.2) with authority to rule on disputes over interpretation ...

. It is the primary judicial agency of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

.protocol on the statute of the african court of justice and Human Rights
, Art 2. The court is based in the city of

Arusha, Tanzania Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern bran ...

, as is the

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; french: Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda; rw, Urukiko Mpanabyaha Mpuzamahanga Rwashyiriweho u Rwanda) was an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nation ...

and as was its predecessor the Court of Justice of the African Union. The court has two chambers, one for general legal matters and one for rulings on the human rights treaties. Within this the court has both an

advisory opinion An advisory opinion is an opinion issued by a court or a commission like an election commission that does not have the effect of adjudicating a specific legal case, but merely advises on the constitutionality or interpretation of a law. Some cou ...

role and adjudicative role. The court is competent to interpret its own judgments in an appellate chamber.

History

The African Court of Justice and Human Rights is an international court based in

. A merging of the African Court on Human and People's Rights and the

was proposed by the chairperson of the Assembly of the

and the head of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

, in 2004. This idea of uniting the two courts was raised because of the African Union's insufficient funds. In January 2005, a panel of legal experts assembled in

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

to formulate a draft protocol that honored the integrity of the two independent courts, yet established a way to regulate the decorum of the now merged court. Afterwards, a panel met in Nigeria to propose a draft protocol to the Executive Council of the African Union. In March 2005, the draft was approved and was passed to legal experts for their recommendations. The recommendations were presented at the African Union Summit in Sirte, Libya. It was decided that operations should begin, and the headquarters would be in the East region of Africa by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government.

Functions of the New Court

The African Court of Justice and Human Rights ultimately reviews cases of war crimes, trafficking people and/or drugs, genocide, crimes against humanity, terrorism, and piracy. The Court is essentially divided into two different sections: the Human Rights section and the General affairs section. The judges are split up evenly between the two. If there is a case pending from the previous

African Court of Human and People's Rights The African Court on Human and Peoples' 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 ( ...

, they will proceed to the Human Rights section of the court and the justice cases from

will go to the General Affairs section. Because the uniting of the African Court on Human and People's Rights and the Court of Justice of the African Union occurred in the middle of the quinquennial election times, previous judges of the two courts were sworn into office until new officers could be elected and sworn in. The court consists of sixteen judges, all of which are from different Member States. Even though the judges of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights are expected to uphold high morality, they are granted full immunity from international laws, throughout and after office.

References

{{African Union Organs of the African Union International courts and tribunals International supreme courts