Constitutional Adjudication in Africa

Providing the first comparative analysis of African attempts to promote respect for rule of law and constitutional justice, this book examines the diverse and distinctive approaches to constitutional adjudication taken. It captures positive and negative developments, and future prospects for the different models of constitutional review.

Charles Manga Fombad is Professor of Law and heads the African Constitutional Law Unit at the Institute for International and Comparative Law, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria. He has taught at the University of Botswana, the University of Yaounde II at Soa,) and was visiting Professor at the Universities of Dschang and Buea in Cameroon. From 2003 to 2007 he was also a Professor Extraordinarius of the Department of Jurisprudence, School of Law, University of South Africa. Professor Fombad is the author of several books is a member of the editorial board of a number of international journals. He is currently a Vice President of the International Association of Constitutional Law. He is also a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa and a fellow of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study. His research interests are in comparative African constitutional law, media law, and the African Union and legal history, especially issues of legal harmonization.

- Introduction
- Part 1 General Overview
- 1: Charles M. Fombad: An Overview of Contemporary Models of Constitutional Review in Africa
- Part 2 Archetypical Examples of Different Models of African Constitutional Adjudication
- 2: SÃ-gnonna Horace Adjolohoun: Centralized Model of Constitutional Adjudication: The Constitutional Court of Benin
- 3: Charles M. Fombad: The Cameroonian Constitutional Council: Faithful Servant of an Unaccountable System
- 4: AndrÃ(c) Thomashausen: The Constitutional Court of Angola: Judicial Restraint in a Dominant Party State
- 5: Kofi Quashigah: The Supreme Court of Ghana under the 1992 Constitution: Nature of Jurisdiction as the Apex Court and Contribution to the Promotion of Constitutionalism
- 6: Ameze Guobadia: Constitutional Adjudication in Nigeria: Formal Structures and Substantive Impact
- 7: James Fowkes: Constitutional Review in South Africa: Features, Changes, and Controversies
- 8: Adem Abebe: Unique but Ineffective: Assessing the Constitutional Adjudication System in Ethiopia
- Part 3 The Impact of Transjudicialism on Constitutional Adjudication
- 9: Magnus Killander: The Effects of International Law Norms on Constitutional Adjudication in Africa
- 10: Bonolo Ramadi Dinokopila: The Impact of Regional and Sub-Regional Courts and Tribunals on Constitutional Adjudication in Africa
- Part 4 Constitutional Adjudication and Promotion of Constitutionalism
- 11: SÃ-gnonna Horace Adjolohoun: 'Made in Courts' Democracies? Constitutional Adjudication and Politics in African Constitutionalism
- 12: Christa Rautenbach: Exploring the Contribution of Ubuntu in Constitutional Adjudication - Towards the Indigenization of Constitutionalism in South Africa?
- Part 5 Decision-Making and Working Practices
- 13: Theodore Holo: Handling of Petitions by the Constitutional Court of Benin
- 14: Richard J. Goldstone: The Birth of the South African Constitutional Court
- 15: Samuel Kofi Date-Bah: Decision Making and Working Practices of the Supreme Court of Ghana
- Part 6 Conclusion
- 16: Charles M. Fombad: Constitutional Adjudication and Constitutional Justice in Africa's Uncertain Transition: Mapping the Way Forward