Charles Fombad. “The Judiciaries of Africa at a Crossroads: Can they Counter the Wave of Authoritarian Resurgence?”, In Judicial Independence in Transitional Democracies. Edited by Nauman Reayat, Rhona K. M. Smith, Moohyung Cho, pp. 12-37. London: Routledge, 2024.
Summary: Much progress was made during the post-1990 constitutional reforms in Africa to make courts more independent and effective. Although the reforms were more limited in scope and effect in the civil law jurisdictions, they nevertheless provided an opportunity for these courts to act for the first time since independence in the 1960s as enforcers of law and defenders of constitutionalism. However, the steady erosion of constitutionalism and democracy and the threats of an authoritarian resurgence in the last two decades has placed African courts under considerable pressure. This chapter examines the challenges that they face and how these can be overcome. The main contention is that African judiciaries need to be bold and assertive if they are to contribute in stemming the tide against a return to the dark days of repressive authoritarian governance on the continent.