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The Performance of Africa's International Courts: Using Litigation for Political, Legal, and Social Change

Online ISBN:
9780191913099
Print ISBN:
9780198868477
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

The Performance of Africa's International Courts: Using Litigation for Political, Legal, and Social Change

James Thuo Gathii (ed.)
James Thuo Gathii
(ed.)
Wing-Tat Lee Chair of International Law, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
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Published online:
21 January 2021
Published in print:
26 November 2020
Online ISBN:
9780191913099
Print ISBN:
9780198868477
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

The performance of international courts has traditionally been judged against criteria of compliance and effectiveness. Whilst these are clearly desirable objectives for litigants before Africa’s international courts, this book shows that we must look beyond these criteria to fully appreciate the impact of African international courts. This book definitively shows how litigants in these courts use their participation in international litigation to achieve other objectives: to amplify political disputes with their governments, to build their movement, to educate the public about their cause, and to challenge the status quo. Chapters in this collection show these courts acting as coordination points for opposition political parties to name and shame dominant parties for violation of their organizational rights. Others demonstrate how Africa’s international courts serve as transitional justice mechanisms in which truth telling about ongoing conflict and authoritarian governance receives significant attention. This attention serves as a platform to galvanize resistance against continued authoritarian rule, especially from outside the conflict countries. Ultimately, the book shows that these courts must be judged against new and broader criteria, and understood as increasingly important venues for waging political, social, environmental, and legal struggles.

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