Amicable Settlements: A Comment on Guideline 13(2)(v) of the Revised Guidelines for Consideration of Communications and Monitoring Implementation of Decisions by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

Abstract

The African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Committee) is mandated to monitor the implementation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in Africa (African Children’s Charter). The African Children’s Committee has developed Revised Guidelines for Consideration of Communications and Monitoring Implementation of Decisions by the African Committee of Experts (RCG) which provide for amicable settlements. This contribution argues that the implementation of amicable settlements presents gaps that do not reconcile the substantive aspects on the one hand and the procedural on the other, in terms of practical implementation. This contribution contextualises the use of amicable settlements in international law and evaluates their use by the African Children’s Committee. The comment examines the application of Guideline 13(2)(v) and its consequential implications and it is proposed that it should be revisited to distinguish between the substantive and procedural aspects of the amicable settlements and how they should be handled to their logical conclusion.