Unconstitutional changes of government constitute a grave danger to the stability and consolidation of democracy in Africa. The recent wave of coups d’état in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger – coming at a time of unprecedented poverty and threats of famine initially caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and now aggravated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine – is likely to provoke more political instability.

In the run-up to the World Congress, ALM and the IACL-AIDC blog present a new series as a foretaste of the brilliant thinking that will be in evidence at the Congress. We will feature some of our wonderful plenary speakers as well as members of the Programme Commission and some members of the Executive Committee of the IACL who have constructed the programme. Our theme for the conference is ‘Constitutional Transformations’.

The African Commission and African Court have made important contributions towards furthering rights protected by the African Charter. However, without sufficient compliance mechanisms, what is the significance of rich jurisprudence beyond academic interest? There is a serious culture of non-compliance and non-enforcement, which undermines the legitimacy and credibility of the Commission and Court’s judgments and orders.