Announcing the Launch of the African Law Matters Blog: Fostering Constitutional Conversations Across the African Continent
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David Bilchitz
University of Johannesburg
Editors’ Note: This blog post continues the cooperation between the IACL-AIDC Blog and global leaders in comparative constitutional law. We are excited to announce a new partnership with African Law Matters (ALM). As part of this partnership, the IACL-AIDC Blog and ALM will be sharing posts and exchanging content issues of on constitutional law of interest to our audiences.
We are delighted to announce the launch of African Law Matters, an exciting new blog for high-quality analysis and commentary on current developments in the areas of constitutional, human rights, public and international law focused on the African continent.
The blog is an initiative of the South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law (SAIFAC), a research centre of the University of Johannesburg. We are supported by the Rule of Law Program for Sub-Saharan Africa of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, and collaborate with the Constitutional Court Review, the international peer-reviewed journal of record devoted to the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.
Our aim is to foster constitutional conversations that give global voice to current legal developments of particular importance to the African continent. By connecting academics, legal practitioners, civil society actors and policymakers through our blog, we aim to contribute to the advancement of human rights, constitutionalism, the rule of law and democracy in Africa and beyond.
The blog was launched in November 2021 with an opening series of posts reflecting on the state of democracy in Africa. The series featured leading voices from across the continent – for instance:
In “Court in the Crossfire” the former Chief Justice of Kenya, Dr Willy Mutunga, writes about the role of an independent judiciary as the custodian of constitutional democracy in Kenya.
In her article “The Imperatives for Electoral Change in Nigeria”, Professor Ameze Guobadia underscores the need for ICT solutions that foster credibility and transparency in electoral processes and outcomes.
In “The Invisible Royal Hand in Crimes against Humanity in Eswatini”, Professor Angelo Dube explores legal accountability for human rights violations during the recent uprisings in Eswatini.
In “Fundamental Rights in Peril: The State of Emergency in Tunisia”, Zaid Al-Ali argues that the survival of a framework of fundamental rights will be critical for addressing the inequality and poverty that prompted the 2011 popular uprising and culminated in Tunisia’s new 2014 Constitution.
In “Supreme Courts, Election Petitions and Democratic Growth”, Maame A.S. Mensa-Bonsu draws out the important lessons from Ghana about the role of African Supreme Courts for the survival of democracies on the continent.
In “An Election Against All Odds”, Dr O’Brien Kaaba explores the unprecedented voter turnout which saw the Zambian people unite to oust an authoritarian regime in the last election, representing a bright spot for democracy on the continent.
The blog is also running a special feature to mark the 25th anniversary of the South African Constitution being signed into law by Nelson Mandela on 10 December 1996. Taking stock 25 years later in his lead piece entitled “A Republic We Should Keep”, Dan Mafora asks what progress has been made — and what it will take — to attain the constitutional vision of a free, equal and dignified life for all. An exclusive film interview with Justice Albie Sachs has just been released about his role in the constitutional negotiations and the landmark judgment by the Constitutional Court certifying the Final Constitution.
We are also committed to raising awareness and fostering critical debate about new books that are published in our focus areas. Most recently, Professor Dunia Zongwe has contributed a review of Dr Ndjodi Ndeunyema’s “Re-Invigorating Ubuntu Through Water: A Human Right to Water under the Namibian Constitution” (PULP 2021).
We both commission contributions to the blog and welcome unsolicited submissions. Articles should be between 800 and 1000 words in length and provide high-quality, accessible commentary on recent developments in constitutional law, fundamental rights, public law, international law and related fields of relevance to the African continent. Further guidelines for submissions are provided here.
As an exciting new initiative, we are building our network of contributors and partners who help us promote and disseminate the blog. There are many ways to contribute to our work:
Write for the blog, either as a once-off commitment or regular contributor.
Serve as a correspondent to keep us updated about significant legal developments in your country or region, and suggest potential contributors.
If you would like to partner with us at African Law Matters or would like to know more, please get in touch with the editorial team at editorial@africanlawmatters.com.
David Bilchitz is a Professor of Fundamental Rights and Constitutional Law in the Faculty of Law at the University of Johannesburg and the Director of SAIFAC. He is also a Professor of Law at the University of Reading (UK)
Suggested Citation: David Bilchitz ‘Announcing the Launch of the African Law Matters Blog: Fostering Constitutional Conversations across the African Continent’ IACL-AIDC Blog (3 February 2022) https://blog-iacl-aidc.org/new-blog-3/2022/2/3/announcing-the-launch-of-the-african-law-matters-blog-fostering-constitutional-conversations-across-the-african-continent.
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