The right to reparations in the contentious process before the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights: A comparative analysis on account of the revised Rules of Court

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine the possible repercussions that the revised Rules of the Court adopted in September 2020 may have on the right to reparations. In particular, the article focuses on the two procedures to issue a judgment on reparations, specific procedures and third party interventions. The information therein has been assembled by reviewing relevant regional legal instruments such as the African Charter, the African Court Protocol and the Rules of Procedure of the African Commission and the Court with their counterparts in the European and Inter-American systems, as well as through an appraisal of pertinent case law. The revision of the Rules of Court demonstrates a constructive attempt by the African Court to clarify previously imprecise rules, expand the scope of specific procedures and reiterate its competencies. These additions are evident in the new arrangement of the contents of an application, and the inclusion of the pilot-judgment procedure or the revised Rule 72 which reaffirms the binding nature of all Court decisions. The article highlights relevant changes to the Rules of Court while arguing that additional rules need to be amended or expanded to more effectively guarantee the right to reparations. To that end, it provides recommendations for the African Court to consider.