The Performance of Africa's International Courts

The performance of international courts has traditionally been judged against criteria of compliance and effectiveness. Whilst these are clearly desirable objectives for litigants before Africa's international courts, this book shows that we must look beyond these criteria to fully appreciate the impact of these courts. This book shows how litigants use their participation in international litigation to achieve other objectives: to amplify political disputes with their governments, to build their movement, to educate the public about their cause, and to challenge the status quo.
Chapters in this collection show how these courts act as coordination points for opposition political parties to name and shame dominant parties for violation of their organizational rights. Others demonstrate how Africa's international courts serve as transitional justice mechanisms in which truth telling about ongoing conflict and authoritarian governance receives significant attention. This attention serves as a platform to galvanize resistance against continued authoritarian rule, especially from outside the conflict countries. Ultimately, the book shows that these courts must be judged against new and broader criteria, and understood as increasingly important venues for waging political, social, environmental, and legal struggles.

James T. Gathii is a Professor of Law and the Wing-Tat Lee Chair in International Law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law since July 2012. He is a graduate of the University of Nairobi, Kenya, and Harvard Law School. He sits on the board of editors of the American Journal of International Law, the Journal of African Law and the Journal of International Trade Law and Policy, and on the Advisory Board of the International Journal of Constitutional Law, among others. He is also a founding editor of afronomicslaw.org, the blog on International Economic Law Issues as they relate to Africa and the Global South.

- Introduction - 1: James Gathii: International Courts as Coordination Devices for Opposition Parties: The Case of the East Court of Justice - 2: Andrew Heinrich: Sub-Regional Courts as Transitional Justice Mechanisms: The Case of the East African Court of Justice in Burundi - 3: Obiora C. Okafor and Okechukwu J. Effoduh: The ECOWAS Court as a (Promising) Resource for Pro-Poor Activist Forces: Sovereign Hurdles, Brainy Relays, and "Flipped Strategic Social Constructivism" - 4: Olabisi Akinkugbe: Towards an Analysis of the Mega-Political Jurisprudence of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice - 5: Solomon Eboborah and Victor Lando: African Sub-regional Courts as Back-Up Custodians of Constitutional Justice: Beyond the Compliance Question - 6: James Gathii and Jacquelene Mwangi: The African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights as an Opportunity Structure - 7: Karen Alter, James Gathii, and Laurence Helfer: Backlash Against International Courts in West, East and Southern Africa: Causes and Consequences - 8: James Gathii and Harrison Otieno: Reference Guide to Africa's International Courts