Abstract

In its first judgment issued on the merits, the African Court found Tanzania responsible for the violation of the African Charter because of its national laws prohibiting the participation in elections of candidates not belonging to political parties. The African Court's analysis is influenced by the jurisprudence of the other regional human rights organs, even if its conclusions are quite different. Two main topics addressed by the African judges are the restrictive interpretation of the claw-back clauses put in the relevant articles of the African Charter and the possibility to institute cases concerning future violations.