Summer Academy on African Union Law and the Public Law of Africa (29 July-9 August 2024)
Objectives of the Summer Academy
The objective of this two-week Summer Academy on African Union Law and the Public Law of Africa is to provide the participants with a better knowledge of the history, content and specificities of this normative system. It aims to provide a deeper understanding of the collective practices and attitudes of African States towards international law.
The course will consist of lectures delivered by leading African scholars, judges and practitioners of international law and African Union Law. The lectures will analyse various legal instruments which derive from and aim at developing the principles upheld by the African Union and its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity. Altogether, the lectures will offer a concise and clear picture of the normative system devised to realize the objectives of these Pan-African organizations, which reflect the innermost aspirations of African peoples.
The Course is also intended to foster a better understanding of the origins, principles and objectives, structure, organs, and scope of operation of the African Union and African Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
In contrast to the OAU Charter, the Constitutive Act of the African Union establishes a new set of principles. Indeed, in addition to the right of intervention of the AU in a member State, without its consent, to prevent war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, the Constitutive Act contains a number of principles which might be considered ground-breaking in the context of the evolution of “African international law”. Thus, it provides for: the right of Member States to request intervention from the Union in order to restore peace and security, the promotion of gender equality, respect for democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law and good governance, respect for the sanctity of human life, condemnation and rejection of impunity and political assassination, acts of terrorism and subversive activities, and enunciates the condemnation and rejection by the AU of unconstitutional changes of government.
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Hourly Schedule
Secured Speakers and Topics
- TBC
- Panafricanism and the Public Law of Africa
- Inaugural Lecture
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Speakers:
Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf
- TBC
- The Law and Institutions of the African Union
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Speakers:
Vincent Nmehielle
- TBC
- Legal Aspects of the Peace and Security Architecture of the African Union
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Speakers:
Dire Tladi
- Legal Implications of the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
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Speakers:
Melaku Geboye Desta
- TBC
- The AfCFTA Protocol on Investments and its Role in the Promotion and Protection of Investments in Africa
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Speakers:
Ndanga Kamau
- TBC
- The Legal Framework for the Protection of Human and Peoples’ Rights
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Speakers:
Frans Viljoen
- TBC
- The African Legal Instruments on Environment Protection and Climate
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Speakers:
Hajer Gueldich
Date
- 29 Jul 2024 - 09 Aug 2024
- Expired!
Time
East African Time- All Day
Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: 29 Jul 2024 - 09 Aug 2024
- Time: All Day
More Info
Location
- Arusha International Conference Centre Kilimanjaro Wing, 3rd Floor P. O. Box 561 Arusha
Organizer
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African Institute Of International Law (AIIL)
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Phone
+255 785 079 573 -
Email
info@aiil-iadi.org -
Website
Home Page
Speakers
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Frans Viljoen
Human rights in Africa, international human rights law, rule of law, constitutionalism, South African constitution, democratisation, democracy in Africa, democratic transition, elections, human rights violations, African Union, African Charter, LGBTI law, discrimination based on sexual orientation, African regional integration law, international human rights monitoring mechanisms, sexual minority rights in Africa; comparative constitutional law
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Hajer Gueldich
Mrs. Hajer GUELDICH, born in Tunis (1976) (married, 3 children) is the current African Union Legal Counsel. She is a Full Professor in law at the University of Carthage (Tunisia), specialized in International law. She is also an elected Member of the African Union Commission on International law (AUCIL) (2015-2023) and the Chairperson of the Commission (2022-2023). She was appointed as a member of the Team of experts on the Institutional Reform of the African Union, since 2017.
Her thesis was discussed at the University of Carthage, since 2008 on the topic of “The right to interfere and humanitarian interventions : Dilemma of practice and International Law”.
Her experience in the field of teaching, since 1999, allowed her a large expertise and gave her the opportunity to do several publications in the fields of international law, humanitarian law, human rights, constitutional law, political science, Administrative Organization, Compared legal systems and transitional periods, in Tunisia and abroad.
Her contacts with the African Union, as she provides consulting in the field of International law, International criminal law and Integration law, allowed her to analyze different aspects of the African International law, especially within studies aiming to develop International law in the continent. She is also a visiting Professor at the Universities of Angers and Rennes (France), Venice and Siena (Italy), Saint Joseph (Lebanon), Laval University (Canada) and the Panafrican University (Cameroon) and has a permanent position at the University of Carthage.
She is the Director of the Center of research in International law, International jurisdictions and Comparative Constitutional Law- University of Carthage. -
Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf
Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf is a Judge of the International Court of Justice, The Hague, Netherlands. He is a former President of the Court (February 2018- February 2021) and a former Vice-President ((February 2015-February 2018). He was elected as Judge to the Court in November 2008 and re-elected in November 2017. He is a member of the Institut de Droit International. He has previously served as Chief legal counsel to various intergovernmental organizations, including UNESCO and UNIDO. He is the founder of the Institute and the founder and Honorary General Editor of the African Yearbook of International Law. He is the author of numerous publications on various aspects of international law. He holds a Ph.D. in international Law from the IUHEI, Geneva.
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Vincent Nmehielle
Professor Vincent O. Nmehielle, a legal and rule of law for development scholar and practitioner, is currently the Secretary-General of the African Development Bank Group in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire. Prior, he oversaw Legal Affairs as the General Legal Counsel of the African Union at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa. He was also Professor of Law and Head of the Programme on Law, Justice, and Development in Africa at the University of the Witwatersrand School of Law in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was on the faculty at the University of the Witwatersrand from 2002 to 2017 and served as the first Bram Fischer Chair in Human Rights Law. Nmehielle was also a Professorial Lecturer in law at Oxford University and The George Washington University Human Rights Program in 2003 and 2004. He served as the first African Principal Defender of the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone in Freetown, Sierra Leone from 2005 to 2008. Professor Nmehielle is widely published and cited on constitutional issues, international law, human rights, international justice, and governance in Africa. He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree with Honors from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, Nigeria; a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree, Summa Cum Laude in international law from the University of Notre Dame, USA; and a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) in international and comparative law from The George Washington University, USA.
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Dire Tladi
Dire Tladi is a professor of international law at the Department of Public Law and the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria. He is also extraordinary professor at the Public Law Department of the University of Stellenbosch.
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Melaku Geboye Desta
Dr Melaku Geboye Desta is Coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC), Regional Integration and Trade Division (RITD), UNECA, Addis Ababa.
Prior to that, Melaku was Principal Regional Advisor (ECA), Senior Technical Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer (APRM Secretariat), Professor of International Economic Law (Leicester De Montfort School of Law, UK), and lecturer/senior lecturer and reader in international economic law at the University of Dundee, Scotland.
A native of Ethiopia, Melaku Desta is a lawyer by training and holds a PhD degree specializing in international economic law. Melaku has published widely in the fields of African and international economic law and policy in general and agriculture and natural resources in particular. Melaku has consulted for a number of international organisations and national governments and served as
arbitrator in international disputes. -
Ndanga Kamau
Ndanga Kamau is an international lawyer based in The Hague, Netherlands. Her practice focuses on international dispute settlement, public international law, private international law, and business & human rights.
She sits as arbitrator in institutional and ad hoc arbitrations. She also advises clients on investor-state dispute settlement, investment protection, contractual disputes, public international law, risk mitigation, dispute prevention and avoidance, and grievance management. She works in a variety of sectors and industries and has considerable expertise in matters related to Africa. Bolstered by her background in economics, Ndanga is proficient in issues related to compensation, damages, costs, and interest. Her clients include private entities, states and state entities, and international organisations. For more information, see experience.
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