La tutela dei diritti umani in Africa: origini, istituzione e attività della Corte africana dei diritti dell’uomo e dei popoli

The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, adopted in Ouagadougou in 1998, came into force in 2004 representing an important step forward for Africa. This article examines the origins of the African Court, highlighting the different factors that up to the 1990s had prevented, and then later allowed, the creation of such a Court. The social, historical and political background provided in this article, shows how hard it was to establish the first African court for human rights. The organization and the composition of the African Court are described according to similarities and differences with the European and the Inter-American Courts on Human Rights. Particular attention is given to the new rule on the exclusion of a judge who is citizen of a State in dispute before the Court. The very broad advisory jurisdiction of the African Court is examined in comparison with those of other regional Human Rights jurisdictions. Furthermore, this article highlights how contentious the jurisdiction of the Court is. This is examined in relation to two questions: subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction. Particular emphasis is given to the role of individuals and NGOs, which can bring cases directly before the Court only if the State concerned has made a declaration accepting the competence of the Court in this regard. The activities undertaken so far by the African Court are described in the last paragraph. After a brief mention of the first case dealt with by the Court, the author focuses on the Libyan affair. The order for provisional measures adopted in March 2011 is examined and developments regarding the Libyan case are investigated, bearing in mind the great changes that have taken place in Tripoli in the meantime.