Event

Procedural Cross-Fertilisation and Judicial Autonomy in the African Court on Human and Peoples´ Rights: Reflections on the DRC v. Rwanda Judgment

  • Speaker  Prof. Ezéchiel Amani Cirimwami

  • Location

    Luxembourg Centre for European Law

    4 rue Alphonse Weicker

    2721, Luxembourg, Luxembourg

  • Topic(s)
    International Law
  • Type(s)
    Free of charge, In-person event, Lectures and seminars

The judgment delivered on June 26, 2025, by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) v. Republic of Rwanda – the Court’s first inter- State case – marks a significant milestone in the consolidation of its role in contentious matters. In addressing Rwanda’s preliminary objections, the Court confronted essential questions of jurisdiction and admissibility while asserting its procedural autonomy within the broader context of international law.
Prof. Amani Cirimwami´s presentation will explore the dynamics of procedural cross-fertilisation in the reasoning of the African Court. He argues that DRC v. Rwanda judgement illustrates how the Court navigates a delicate balance between openness to external jurisprudence and the
affirmation of its own institutional identity.


First, Prof. Amani Cirimwami will examine how both parties – the DRC and Rwanda – actively contributed to a transjudicial dialogue by referencing precedents from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), the ECOWAS Court, and the East African Court of Justice. This strategic use of comparative jurisprudence reveals the existence of a “global judicial marketplace” from which states draw to legitimise their arguments.


Second, Prof. Amani Cirimwami will analyse how the Court itself engages with this jurisprudential ecosystem. While reaffirming, in paragraph 73, its exclusive reliance on its Protocol and Rules of Procedure, the Court’s reasoning shows subtle borrowings—sometimes aligned, sometimes divergent—from the jurisprudence of other human rights courts.

Finally, this presentation will reflect on the tension between cross-fertilisation and autonomy. Rather than undermining African originality, the Court’s selective engagement with external sources demonstrates a creative hybridisation that enhances its legitimacy and institutional maturity.

Prof. Ezéchiel Amani Cirimwami

Ezéchiel Amani Cirimwami holds two doctorates from the Catholic University of Louvain (UCLouvain) and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). He is Professor of International Law at VUB and visiting professor at UCLouvain and the Royal Military Academy of Belgium. He previously held a research fellowship at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law and served as associate editor of the Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law.
He acts as counsel before international courts and tribunals, including the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. He participated in treaty negotiations, notably the Ljubljana diplomatic conference leading to the adoption of the Ljubljana–The Hague Convention, and was elected to its Drafting Committee.
He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. His research focuses on international procedural law.

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