African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights

The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Court) is a continental court established by African states to ensure the protection of human and peoples’ rights in Africa. It complements the functions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The African Court is the judicial arm of the African Union and one of the three regional human rights courts, the others being the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human rights. It was established to protect human and peoples’ rights in Africa principally through judicial consideration of human rights complaints. The Court’s permanent seat is in Arusha, the United Republic of Tanzania. The Court was established pursuant to Article 1 of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, (the Protocol) which was adopted by Member States of the then Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in June 1998. The Protocol entered into force on 25 January 2004. To date, 34 Member States have ratified the Protocol establishing the Court. Out of these, currently, only 8 States have filed a Declaration under Article 34 (6 ) of the Protocol by which they accept the competence of the Court to consider applications filed by individuals and NGOs.