OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. LADY JUSTICE IMANI D. ABOUD, PRESIDENT OF THE AFRICAN COURT ON THE OCCASION OF THE 2ND JUDGES’ RETREAT.
14 June 2023, Dodoma
- Honorable Vice-President of the Court,
- Honorable Judges of the Court,
- Registrar and Deputy Registrar,
- Staff of the Registry,
- Dear Colleagues.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to the 2nd Retreat of Judges of the African Court, here in Dodoma, the capital city of the United Republic of Tanzania. I would also like to sincerely thank you all for accepting this Retreat. This demonstrates, once again, your dedication to contribute to the smooth functioning of the African Court in particular and the African human rights protection system in general.
I also wish to thank the Registry for the efforts that have been put into preparing this retreat and the engagement with Judges throughout this process.
Dear colleagues, during the First Retreat in June 2021, we had invited key external stakeholders to share with us their views on the work of the Court, and it was a unique opportunity to listen to what these stakeholders think about the Court. The current Retreat is restricted only to us Judges, to give us the opportunity to speak frankly about the Court and see how to position the Court as a central pillar in the socio-economic and political development of the continent.
We may not be able to deal with all the issues relating to the Court in just one retreat, but we have to start somewhere. In this Retreat there, we have selected key subjects that affect the core business of the Court as well as our relationship with key stakeholders. To this end, Judges have been assigned to make a number of presentations on these and related topics including;
- Taking stock of the implementation of the recommendations of the First Judges’ Retreat, and other meetings
- the role of Judges Rapporteur in the preparation and finalization of decisions and opinions,
- The Format of Court Judgements;
- The Proposed Format of Opinions and Declarations;
- Extraordinary remedies in common law and civil law jurisdictions;
- Assessment of reasonable time in determining admissibility of applications;
- The doctrine of Margin of Appreciation;
- Monetary reparations vis-à-vis other forms of reparation;
- Context-based alternative remedies with focus on repetitive or settled violations; and finally
- State compliance with decisions of the Court and concerns of interference with the sovereignty and domestic judicial systems; and finally,
Honorable Judges and dear colleagues,
It is expected that at the end of the three-day retreat we will come up with concrete recommendations that will enhance our working methods and the efficiency of the work of the Court.
I therefore invite my colleagues to, as they have always done, approach these issues with open mind, frankness, and put the Court and the continent above all else. It is only by doing so that we can meaningfully respond to the many challenges facing the Court and the views expressed by stakeholders.
It is my hope that, our deliberations will lead to conclusions that hold the potential to bring a positive impact to the Court, and the African Union at large.
With these remarks, I declare open the 2nd Judges’ Retreat and wish you all a fruitful and successful retreat.
Thank you for your attention.
Imani D. Aboud
