The case law of the African court on human and peoples’ rights in Libya following the Arab uprisings: Lessons learned for the consolidation and legitimation of the court

Abstract

This article examines the two cases brought before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights following the Libyan uprising in 2011: African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Benghazi) v Libya and African Commission (Saif al-Islam Gaddafi) v Libya. These two cases mark three ‘firsts’: the first time for the African Commission to transfer a case to the African Court; the first order for provisional measures by the Court; and the first time the Court rendered a judgment by default. This study reveals that although the Court has taken significant steps in terms of its consolidation and legitimation, substantive and procedural challenges in its functioning remain. Moreover, the authors argue that the political divisions within the African Union diminished the Court’s potential impact on the Libyan crisis.