The East African Court of Justice : towards Effective Protection of Human Rights in the East African Community

[摘要] The establishment of the East African Community (EAC) in 1999 brought with it new expectationsfor the citizens of the East African region. The main objective of the EAC is to bolsterdevelopment in various fields such as economic, social, cultural, research, technology and legalaffairs. In order to reach such an objective, the EAC member states have pledged to adhere tohuman rights, as one of the founding principles of the EAC. Member states are also required torespect accepted universal human rights standards when carrying out Community activities. Inorder to ensure that EAC values, as provided in the EAC Treaty, are preserved, member statesvoluntarily decided to put in place a judicial organ for the Community − the East African Court ofJustice (EACJ). The Court is the main judicial organ of the EAC, with the primary responsibility forinterpreting and applying EAC law. Despite the fact that human rights constitute one of the EACnorms, the EACJ has yet to be granted an explicit human rights jurisdiction. It has thus fallen onthe Court to engage in judicial activism to indirectly protect human rights within the Community.Thus, this study examines the role of the EACJ in protecting human rights within the EAC, as wellas the challenges it is facing at present and its prospects. This study, therefore, demonstratesthat the current limitation on the human rights jurisdiction of the EACJ has rendered the Courtunable to protect human rights effectively within the EAC.

[发布机构] University of Pretoria