International law and domestic human rights litigation in Africa
Edited by Magnus Killander
2010
ISBN: 978-0-9869857-2-0
Pages: 235
Print version: Available
Electronic version: Free PDF available
About the publication
African civil law countries are traditionally described as monist and common law countries as dualist. This book illustrates that the monism-dualism dichotomy is too simplistic, in particular in the field of human rights. Academics and practitioners from across the continent illustrate how domestic courts in Africa have engaged with international human rights law to interpret or fill gaps in national bills of rights. The authors also consider the challenges encountered in increasing the use of international human rights law by African domestic courts.
An introductory chapter which outlines the legal framework and judicial practice across Africa is followed by case studies on Kenya, Ghana, Botswana, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Benin and Côte d’Ivoire. The book further includes thematic chapters dealing with Namibian equality jurisprudence, right to health litigation in Nigeria, children’s rights litigation in South Africa, the Habré case in Senegal, and the role of the Uganda Human Rights Commission in promoting international law.
About the editors:
Magnus Killander is Associate Professor at Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
Table of Contents
Foreword
Contributors
Table of Cases
List of Abbreviations
PART I: Introduction
- 1. International law and domestic human rights litigation in Africa: An introductionMagnus
Killander & Horace Adjolohoun
PART II: Country Studies
- 2. Navigating past the ‘dualist doctrine’: the case for progressive jurisprudence on the application of international human rights norms in Kenya
J Osogo Ambani - 3. An examination of the use of international law as an interpretative tool in human rights litigation in Ghana and Botswana
Emmanuel K Quansah - 4. The place of international law in human rights litigation in Tanzania
Chacha Bhoke Murungu - 5. Domestication of international human rights law in Zambia
Michelo Hansungule - 6. The application of international law in the Ugandan judicial system: A critical enquiry
Busingye Kabumba - 7. International law and human rights litigation in Côte d’Ivoire and Benin
Armand Tanoh & Horace Adjolohoun
PART III: Themes
- 8. Equality has no mother but sisters: The preference for comparative law over international law in the equality jurisprudence in Namibia
Dunia P Zongwe - 9. Litigating the right to health in Nigeria: Challenges and prospects
Ebenezer Durojaye - 10. The role of international law in the development of children’s rights in South Africa: A children’s rights litigator’s perspective
Karabo Ngidi - 11. La Convention contre la torture et son application au niveau national: Le cas du Sénégal dans l’affaire Hissène Habré
Fatou Kama Marone - 12. The role of National Human Rights Institutions in promoting international law in domestic legal systems: Case study of the Uganda Human Rights Commission
Kenechukwu C Esom
Bibliography
African case law on the internet
Index
Keywords: