AFRICAN UNION
الاتحاد الأفريقي
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UNION AFRICAINE
UNIÃO AFRICANA
AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS
COUR AFRICAINE DES DROITS DE L'HOMME ET DES PEUPLES
P.O Box 6274 Arusha, Tanzania Telephone: +255 27 2970430
Website: www.african-court.org Email: registrar@african-court.org
# 2019 NEW YEAR MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS
Dear members of the African human rights community and dear friends of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, it is with a dual feeling of pride and hope that I deliver to you the traditional annual message of the President of the Court on the solemn occasion of the beginning of this year, 2019.
The African Court is justifiably proud of its achievements during the year 2018, which has just ended. As I announced in my 2018 message, the Court's action was informed by the reforming trend within the African Union, whose watchwords are convergence of action and rationalisation of resources. The Court has, inter alia, undertaken the reform of its working methods, mainly with regard to judicial matters. We have initiated or completed major new projects such as the digitization of proceedings before the Court, the improvement of case-handling processes, the enhanced staffing of the Legal Division, the strengthening of the legal aid mechanism through the ongoing establishment of the assistance fund, as well as the recruitment of counsel to the Court, their training, and the launch of their Code of Ethics and the procedural manual on their interaction with the Court. The Court has also proceeded with plans to launch its Reparations Guidelines and the Framework for Monitoring Reporting and Implementation of its Decisions.
A notable feature of the Court's performance in 2018 was its increased judicial productivity. It should be noted that the number of decisions rendered by the Court was significantly higher than in 2017, reaching twice the figures achieved in 2016. While this result exceeds expectations, the Court's mission and the current and potential overcrowding of its docket require an increased effort. The willingness to reform working methods from within the Court, combined with the reform proposals
under discussion at the level of the African Union, augurs well for changes that could significantly improve these results from the first session in 2019. The strong commitment of the Judges and staff of the Court also points to an increased productivity in the coming year.