The African Union’s continental human rights court, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR), received a setback this past March when Tunisia withdrew its declaration, under Article 34(6) of the Court’s founding Protocol, allowing individuals and NGOs to directly access the Court. Tunisia accounts for 24 (7%) of the 371 applications to the African Court to date, and the two-thirds of applications still pending (and those submitted before the withdrawal enters into force) will proceed as normal. However, once the withdrawal takes effect in March 2026, Tunisians will be deprived of a potential avenue for accountability for human rights abuses during a period of increasing authoritarianism in Tunisia.
International Tribunals
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Africa’s Turn: The African Court’s Advisory Opinion on Climate Change
On 2 May 2025, the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR, the Court) received a request for an advisory opinion concerning the obligations of states in the context of climate change. This development was anticipated: as early as 2023, there were indications such a request was in preparation (at 54:30) and, that same year, the…
Lex Mitior “on trial” before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers: Whither Legality
On 17 April 2025, the Kosovo Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court (Chamber) issued a worrying judgment regarding the more lenient punishment – the lex mitior principle under Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) and Article 33 of the Kosovo Constitution. The reasoning relies on the legal status…
From Extraterritorial Obligations to Aggravated Responsibility: How Regional Human Rights Courts Could Shape the ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Change
In March 2023, the United Nations General Assembly requested an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on states’ responsibilities under international law to protect the climate system for current and future generations. The Court’s Opinion is expected to clarify the content and scope of human rights obligations and their implications for state…
The Universal Obligation to Arrest Netanyahu and Gallant: Ending State Officials’ Immunity Saga with respect to grave breaches of IHL
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made two trips in April without being arrested: one to Hungary and the other to the United States (US). While commentators criticized Hungary for failing to arrest Netanyahu, arguing that as a state party to the International Criminal Court (ICC), it had a duty to do so (the ICC initiated non-compliance proceedings),…