Judicial, Human Rights & Legal Organs of the African Union and RECs

Collections of judgments and documents by organs mandated to oversee matters legal matters on behalf of the Union, RECs, their Member States and African citizens.

African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)

The ACHPR was inaugurated in 1987 to oversee and interpret the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (also known as the Banjul Charter). The Charter is a human rights instrument designed to champion the promotion and protection of human rights and basic freedoms in Africa.

Under the Charter, the ACHPR is charged with three major functions, the:

Promotion of human and peoples’ rights
Protection of human and peoples’ rights
Interpretation of the Charter

African Court on Human and Peoples Rights (AfCHPR)

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights is a judicial body that delivers binding judgments on compliance with the African Charter. The Court has jurisdiction over all cases and disputes concerning the interpretation and application of:

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which is the main human rights instrument in Africa
The Protocol that established the Court
AU Constitutive Act, AU treaties and all subsidiary legal instruments
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Charter)
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol),
Other human rights treaties or instruments ratified by the state party concerned and
any question of international law.

African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC)

The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (either ACERWC or the Committee), which was established in July 2001, monitors the implementation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The Committee draws its mandate from Articles 32-46 of the Charter.

The Committee reports to the Assembly of Heads of State and the African Union (AU) every two years. It must also consider any communications it has received about violations of children’s rights under Article 44 of the Charter to the AU.

COMESA Court of Justice

The COMESA Court of Justice has jurisdiction to adjudicate upon all matters which may be referred to it pursuant to the COMESA Treaty.

East African Court of Justice

The East African Court of Justice is a treaty-based judicial body of the East African Community tasked to ensure adherence to law in the interpretation and application of and compliance with the East African Community Treaty of 1999.

ECOWAS Community Court of Justice

The ECOWAS Court of Justice is an organ of the Economic Community of West African States, a regional integration community of 15 member states in Western Africa. It was created pursuant to the provisions of Articles 6 and 15 of the Revised Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States.

SADC Administrative Tribunal

Southern African Development Community: SADCAT. The SADC Tribunal ensures adherence to, and proper interpretation of the provisions of, the SADC Treaty and subsidiary instruments, and adjudicates upon disputes referred to it.

Southern African Development Community Tribunal

The SADC Tribunal was a court and the highest policy institution of the Southern African Development Community. It was housed in the Turnhalle building in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. Although established on paper since 1992, members of the Tribunal were only appointed during the SADC Summit in 2005.