An evaluation of the human rights jurisdictional overlap in the East African region

Abstract

Even though the EACJ has no explicit human rights jurisdiction, a creative interpretation of the EAC Treaty has enabled EACJ judges to hear matters involving human rights. This has led to the creation of an overlap in the human rights jurisdictions of the EACJ and national courts, due to lack of official delineation of their various roles. This overlap has worsened relations between the EACJ and the EAC Partner States. Through a comparative research with the CJEU, this research argues that in order for this issue to be solved, the EACJ should acquire an explicit human rights jurisdiction.