2 regional courts sign cooperation agreement

Dar es Salaam. Two regional courts based in Arusha have pledged to work together to spearhead the fight against human rights violations in Africa.

The African Court on Human and People’s Rights (AfCHPR) and the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) will now collaborate to achieve the goal.

“Through the links that we have established between us, we are laying the foundations of our interaction,” they said in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) seen by The Citizen.

The document was signed in Arusha on Wednesday by the President of the African Court, Justice Sylvain Ore, and his EACJ counterpart Emmanuel Ugirashebuja.

Speaking after the signing, Justice Ore said AfCHPR - a judicial organ of the African Union - has a lot to learn from EACJ, an organ of the East African Community (EAC).

He said despite limitations to the acts that established the latter body, handling mainly cases on disputes within the region, the EA Court was rich in literature on human rights law.

He added: “Our courts will reflect the interdependence between economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights.”

Justice Ore said the two legal institutions will collaborate in the development of court room technology systems.

This would include the taking of transcripts and the incorporation of audio-visual systems into proceedings, the management of registries in the partner States and links with the main Registry.

Other cooperation would be within the framework of the African Judicial Network, continuing judicial education and human rights action plans.

“We will instil the best practices in the protection of human rights through the setting up of an exchange programme for staff and judges,” the African Court boss pointed out.

The deal would also see creation of a joint online training platform to facilitate knowledge sharing.