Abstract:
A solid stream of cases have been submitted to the quasi-judicial and judicial treaty
monitoring bodies making up the African regional human rights system, namely the
African Commission, the African Children’s Rights Committee and the African
Human Rights Court, and also to sub-regional courts in Africa. Allowing amicus curiae
briefs to supplement the parties’ pleadings can enhance the soundness of the
factual and legal findings of these bodies, especially given their institutional and
practical constraints. Thus far, the use of amicus curiae interventions before the
African regional human rights bodies has been negligible. In order to ensure greater
participation by amici, this article suggests that the possibility of amicus intervention
should be unequivocally provided for under each of the applicable legal regimes,
that the grounds for accepting or rejecting interventions should be clearly articulated,
and that access to information about pending cases should be provided
routinely.
