Legal research across African borders
Research digitised African regional and national law.
Search 7283 African Union documents and legal information from 13 African countries.
Explore the law and policy of the African Union
We digitise the law and policy of the African Governance Architecture and help Africans and the world connect with and understand the African Union agenda.
African Union Organs
Regional Economic Communities
Regional Courts
Member States
The member states of the African Union are the independent countries within the African continent that collectively work towards the union's goals of promoting unity, economic development, and peace.
Explore Member StatesRecent Judgments
Noudehouenou v Burkina Faso (Application No. 010/2021) [2023] AfCHPR 5 (30 March 2023) 30 March 2023 Noudehouenou c République Du Bénin (Requête N° 010/2021) [2023] AfCHPR 6 (30 mars 2023) 30 March 2023 Fathi and Others v Republic of Tunisia (Application No. 001/2023) [2023] AfCHPR 3 (17 March 2023) 17 March 2023 Fathi Et Autres c Republique Tunisienne (Requête N° 001/2023) [2023] AfCHPR 3 (17 mars 2023) 17 March 2023 Mironko v Attorney General of the Republic of Rwanda (Application 15 of 2022) [2023] EACJ 5 (27 February 2023) 27 February 2023 View more judgmentsRecent Legal Instruments
Protocol on Trade in Services 30 May 2019 Revised Constitution of the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Co-operation Organisation (SARPCCO) 18 August 2018 Treaty of the Southern African Development Community 18 August 2018 Accord Portant Création de la Zone de Libre-Échange Continentale Africaine 21 March 2018 Protocol on Rules and Procedures on the Settlement of Disputes 21 March 2018 View more legal instrumentsRecent Soft Law
Decision on the Report of the Ministerial Committee on African Candidatures Within the International System 15 July 2022 Decision on Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting on the Implementation of Decisions of the AU Policy Organs 15 July 2022 Decision on the Mid-Term Implementation Report of the African Union Theme of the Year for 2022 on Nutrition 15 July 2022 Decision on Appointment of Members of the AU Board of External Auditors 15 July 2022 Decision on the Report on the Appropriate Level of Funds to be Used Under the Crisis Reserve Facility (CRF) of the AU Peace Fund 15 July 2022 View more Soft LawRecent Reports and Guides
Arabic - Communiqué Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) at its 1149th meeting, held on 16 April 2023, on Briefing on the situation in Sudan 17 April 2023 Communiqué Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) at its 1149th meeting, held on 16 April 2023, on Briefing on the situation in Sudan 16 April 2023 Communiqué Adopté par le Conseil de Paix et de Sécurité (CPS) de l’Union africaine (UA) lors de sa 1149e réunion tenue le 16 avril 2023, sur l’exposé de la situation au Soudan 16 April 2023 Communiqué of the 1147th meeting of the PSC held on 6th April 2023, on the Prevention of the Ideology of Hate, Genocide and Hate Crimes in Africa 6 April 2023 Communiqué de la 1147eme réunion du CPS tenue le 6 avril 2023, sur la prévention de l'idéologie de haine, du génocide et des crimes haineux en Afrique 6 April 2023 View more Reports and GuidesExplore African national legal information
Explore African national legislation and court judgments from Legal Information Institutes across Africa.
Latest Commentary
Namibia’s top court on recognising foreign same-sex marriage: what did it actually say?
- 24 May 2023
- Carmel Rickard
In a decision with wide-reaching implications for the country’s gay and lesbian community, Namibia’s apex supreme court has held that same-sex marriages, properly concluded in countries where such unions are permitted, must be regarded as valid in Namibia. The new decision, made despite the fact that same-sex marriage is not allowed in this Southern African nation, brings to an end long-running litigation involving two couples whose relationship had been refused recognition.
Seychelles and human trafficking: sinister new trend emerges from appeal
- 24 May 2023
- Carmel Rickard
Seychelles is regarded as a state that is doing relatively well on the question of combatting human trafficking. It’s on the US state department’s global assessment register as at Tier 2: not fully meeting the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but making significant efforts to do so. These efforts include establishing the country’s first anti-trafficking hotline and establishing a trafficking-specific shelter. Two recent appeal judgments, however, give a sense of the difficulty of the work that lies ahead. Both involved a worrying new development in human trafficking: the use of local men as ‘drug guarantees’. These are people trafficked to stand as hostages to ensure that money owed to drug suppliers will be paid.
Court orders more learning space for law students
- 16 May 2023
- Carmel Rickard
Desperate law students at the University of Zambia have taken the council of the university to court: the students were distressed about the shortage of lecture halls and study space on campus due to an unprecedented number of students signed up after the government changed its policy on admissions. The court heard of students facing ‘near stampede circumstances’ in trying to attend lectures, with jostling for seats and many standing outside the lecture rooms.
Lesotho's CJ bemoans police impunity & its effect on rule of law
- 17 March 2023
- Carmel Rickard
The frustration of Lesotho’s Chief Justice Sakoane Sakoane at continuing police brutality against ordinary citizens of that country is plainly evident in a new decision. Just as disturbing for him is the fact that police mostly commit these acts with impunity – seldom are they investigated and prosecuted – and the attorney general often fights against complainants if they ever bring a claim for damages, even in the face of completed medical reports that put the matter beyond doubt. The CJ found the case of Kabelo Khabanyane against the police particularly egregious since Khabanyane is an elderly man who has a visual impairment. Thus, he was highly vulnerable to police assault. In addition, their assaults against him came at dawn, after police found him sleeping.
Unconstitutional for Uganda’s tax authority to demand banks supply sensitive information on every single client
- 17 March 2023
- Carmel Rickard
In March 2018, the Commissioner General of the Ugandan Revenue Authority (URA) sent notices to Uganda’s banks requiring them to supply key information about every single client. The banks in turn challenged whether this move was lawful, and the country’s constitutional court has now declared that it was not.