Two Paths in the Future Relationship of the European Court of Human Rights and the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights

Abstract

ABSTRACT There are two potential paths in the future relationship between the African and European Human Rights Courts. One path, brimming with optimism, sees a ‘global community of courts’ engaging in judicial dialogue that contributes to global human rights law. A second path has emerged in a Concurring Opinion to ND and NT v. Spain, a judgment legitimizing pushback of migrants at the borders of Europe. Judge Pejchal suggested that the application should have been struck out, as the applicants could have brought their claim to the African Court if they were unsatisfied with the human rights situation in their home country. This remains the sole reference to the African Court in the jurisprudence of the European Court. It takes place in a context of backlash against both courts in politically fraught areas, and in shared territorial experiences of waves of migration from Africa to Europe. This article presents the two paths of these regional courts and their intertwining futures, focusing on the judicial practices that facilitate dialogue. We explore these paths empirically and argue that aspirations of unity and the cynicism of insularity are likely to be prominent and overlapping themes in the future of regional human rights courts.