AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS AND CHALLENGE OF CONSENT TO JURISDICTION BY MEMBER STATES: A RETHINK ON NIGERIA’S POSITION

Abstract

One  of  the  measures  adopted  by  the  African  Union  to  straighten  the  protection  of  human  rights  within  African region is through the creation of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The objective of this paper was to examine the challenges faced byNigerians and Non-governmental Organisations in accessing African Court on Human  and  Peoples’  Rights.  The  paper  adopted  a  doctrinal  research  method  by  examination  of  the  legal instruments for African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. It was discovered that the major challenge faced by Nigerians and NGOs in accessing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights is due to the inability of Nigeria  to  consent  to  the  jurisdiction  of  African  Court  on  Human  and  Peoples’  Rights.  It  was  based  on  the foregoing  that  we  recommended  among  others  for  an  amendment  to  Article  34  (6)  of  the  Protocol  for  the establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights by deleting the clause that requires that a State Party  must  declare  to  the  competence  of  the  Court  before  individuals  and  Non-governmental  Organistaions  from that state can access the Court.