Application of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights by Domestic Courts in Africa

This article assesses how domestic African courts are applying the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The discussion covers 16 countries: Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Cape Verde, Congo, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The examination of Botswana and Tanzania include references to women's rights cases. The section on Botswana includes two sex discrimination cases in which the Botswana Court of Appeal interpreted the Botswana Constitution in harmony with the African Charter's gender equality guarantee. The section on Tanzania refers to a gender equality case in which the Tanzanian High Court ruled that customary law violated Tanzania's Bill of Rights as well as the African Charter nd other international law. Other countries surveyed do not include references to women's rights. The discussions of Algeria, Cape Verde, Congo, Senegal, Togo, and Tunisia are particularly brief.