Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights

Article 1: Definitions

In this Statute, except otherwise indicated, the following shall mean:
“African Charter” means the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights;
“African Commission” means the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights;
“African Committee of Experts” means the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child;
“African Intergovernmental Organisations” means an organisation that has been established with the aim of ensuring socio-economic integration, and to which some Member States have ceded certain competences to act on their behalf, as well as other sub-regional, regional or inter-African Organisations;
“African Non-Governmental Organizations” means Non-Governmental Organizations at the sub-regional, regional or inter-African levels as well as those in the Diaspora as may be defined by the Executive Council;
“Agent” means a person mandated in writing to represent a party in a case before the Court;
“Assembly” means the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Union;
“Chamber(s) ” means a Chamber established in accordance with Article 19 of the Statute.
“Constitutive Act” means the Constitutive Act of the African Union;
“Commission”: means the Commission of the Union;
“Court” means the African Court of Justice and Human Rights as well as its sections and chambers;
“Executive Council” means the Executive Council of Ministers of the Union; 9
“Full Court” means joint sitting of the General Affairs and Human Rights Sections of the Court;
“Human Rights Section” means the Human and Peoples’ Rights Section of the Court;
“Judge” means a judge of the Court;
“Member State” means a Member State of the Union;
“National Human Rights Institutions” means public institutions established by a state to promote and protect human rights;
“President” means the President of the Court elected in accordance with Article 22(1) of the Statute;
“Protocol” means the Protocol to the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights;
“Registrar” means the person appointed as such in accordance with Article 22 (4) of the Statute;
“Rules” means the Rules of the Court;
“Section” means the General Affairs or the Human Rights Section of the Court;
“Senior Judge” means the person defined as such in the Rules of Court;
“States Parties” means Member States, which have ratified or acceded to this Protocol;
“Statute” means the present Statute;
“Union” means the African Union established by the Constitutive Act;
“Vice President” means the Vice President of the Court elected in accordance with Article 22 (1) of the Statute.