African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCourtHPR), Arusha

26.06.2012 No. 001/2011,

Femi Falana v. the African Union, African Union cannot be sued before the Court on behalf of its Member States / Nigerian human rights lawyer’s claim dismissed

32 HRLJ 267 (2012)

14.06.2013 Nos. 009/20011 and 011/2011,

Tanganyika Law Society et al. and Reverend Christopher R. Mtikila
v. Tanzania,
Court’s first judgment on the merits includes comparative law aspects / Restrictions on the right to vote unlawful / Violation of freedom of association and the prohibition of discrimination (exclusion of independent candidates who are not members of or sponsored by a political party) / Government’s argument referring to national unity and solidarity rejected

33 HRLJ 18 (2013)

20.11.2015 No. 005/2013,

Alex Thomas v. Tanzania, 30 years’ imprisonment for armed robbery / Conviction in absentia without pro bono legal counsel / Applicant not allowed to provide the trial court with reasons for his absence (hospitalisation for several months) / Violation of the right to be heard and to defend oneself / Judgment based on extensive comparative law aspects

35 HRLJ 328 (2015)

18.03.2016 No. 003/2014,

 Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza v. Rwanda, Rwanda decides to withdraw its Declaration under Article 34(6) of the Protocol accepting the competence of the Court to receive cases / Withdrawal declaration deposited on 29 February 2016 / The Court orders the Parties to file written submissions on the effect of the withdrawal

36 HRLJ 235 (2016)
03.06.2016 / 05.09.2016
No. 003/2014
Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza v. Rwanda, Ruling on the effects of Rwanda’s withdrawal declaration regarding the competence of the Court / Lack of a denunciation clause in the African Charter / Time frame of 12 months deemed appropriate (as foreseen under the American Convention, unlike the six months’ clause under the European Convention) 37 HRLJ 272 (2017)
26.05.2017 No. 006/2012 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v. Kenya, Eviction of the Ogiek population from the Mau Forest area / Discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origin / Violation of the right to occupy ancestral lands and to exercise religious and cultural practices / Unlawful deprivation of traditional food resources / Denial of the right to development 37 HRLJ 251 (2017)
28.09.2017 No. 001/2017 Alex Thomas v. Tanzania, Interpretation of parts of the operative provisions of a judgment establishing a violation of the right to fair trial regarding an applicant still imprisoned / Meaning of the State’s obligation to take “all necessary measures” to remedy the violations found 37 HRLJ 270 (2017)
24.11.2017 No. 003/2014 Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza v. Rwanda, Arrest, detention and trial of the leader of a political party / Application of legal provisions punishing “minimisation”, “propagation” or “negation” of the genocide committed against the Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994 / Violation of the applicant’s right to freedom of expression
● See also above the judgments of 18.03.2016, 03.06.2016, 05.09.2016
38 HRLJ 46 (2018)
22.03.2018 No. 012/2015 Anudo v. Tanzania, Arbitrary deprivation of Tanzanian nationality / Unlawful expulsion to Kenya / Situation of statelessness in a “no man’s land” between Kenya and Tanzania / Respondent State ordered to restore the  applicant’s rights by allowing him to return to the national territory 38 HRLJ 30 (2018)
11.05.2018 No. 046/2016 APDF and IHRDA v. Mali, Influence of widespread protest movement by Islamic organisations hampered reform of family law / NGOs submit several provisions of the 2011 new Family Code to the scrutiny of the Court / Preliminary objections regarding jurisdiction and belated seizure of the Court rejected / Numerous  violations of international law identified (minimum age of and consent to marriage, inheritance rights for women and natural children) / “Harmony with socio-cultural realities”, invoked by the Government, no justification 38 HRLJ 38 (2018)