Justice Adjei: Ghana bound by decisions of African Human Rights Court

Justice of the Supreme Court, Dennis Dominic Adjei, has affirmed that Ghana and other signatories to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights are legally bound by the decisions of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Speaking at the launch of his latest book, International Human Rights Law and Practice, on Friday, October 10, Justice Adjei explained that the African Court was established to ensure that member states uphold the principles enshrined in the Charter.

He stressed that the Court serves as an essential mechanism for harmonising national legal systems with continental human rights standards.

However, Justice Adjei clarified that access to the African Court is contingent upon the exhaustion of all available local legal remedies, as outlined in the Court’s protocols.

“When you sit in your courts and use your common sense to interpret a human rights treaty, you are going off track,” he said.

Justice Adjei also urged Ghanaian authorities to consider making formal reservations on specific provisions of international treaties that the country does not wish to be bound by during the ratification process.

He cited, as an example, a treaty ratified by Ghana that allows men to adopt their wives’ surnames upon marriage, contrary to Ghanaian custom, where women traditionally take their husband’s surname.