Introduction: Origins and Issues of the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples\u27 Rights

In June 2014, at its summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government (\u27Assembly\u27) of the African Union adopted the Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (the \u27Malabo Protocol\u27). The so-called Malabo Protocol was one of eight legal instruments adopted by African Union (AU) leaders, but undoubtedly one of its most significant. The significance stems, partly, from the consideration and addition of a third section to the proposed African Court of Justice and Human Rights (ACJHR) which had already formally anticipated the possibility of a regional tribunal with jurisdiction over human rights issues as well as general disputes arising between African States. The new Court will, once its statute enters into force upon achievement of the 15 required ratifications additionally possess the competence to investigate and try 14 international, transnational and other crimes in a highly ambitious tribunal with three separate chambers and jurisdictions:\u27 (1) the General Affairs Section, (2) the Human and Peoples\u27 Rights Section and (3) the International Criminal Law Section. The merger of these three chambers addressing inter-state disputes, human rights and penal aspects into a single court with a common set of judges represents a significant development in Africa and in wider regional institution building and law making.https://ecollections.law.fiu.edu/faculty_books/1265/thumbnail.jp