Tamir Moustafa. “Mobilising the Law in an Authoritarian State: The Legal Complex in Contemporary Egypt.” In Fighting for Political Freedom: Comparative Studies of the Legal Complex and Political Liberalism. Edited by Terence C. Halliday, Lucien Karpik, and Malcolm M. Feeley, pp. 193-218, Oxford, U.K: Hart Publishing, 2007. This chapter examines the Egyptian legal profession as …
Peter Vondoepp, Rachel Ellett, “Reworking Strategic Models of Executive-Judicial Relations: Insights from New African Democracies.” Comparative Politics, vol. 43, no. 2 (2011): 147-165. Summary: In emerging African democracies, why do judiciaries experience high levels of government interference in some contexts and not in others? Original research conducted in five commonwealth African countries reveals that conventional strategic …
Justice Alfred Mavedzenge, “The Price They Pay for Their Independence: Understanding the Persecution of Judges in Africa as Retribution for their Impartiality.” Southern African Public Law, vol. 40, no. 1 (2025): 1-28. Summary: Various recent research studies suggest that most judiciaries in Africa are captured by the ruling elites and are being weaponised to persecute political …
This article investigates how defense lawyers in Benin navigate a shifting political landscape marked by democratic backsliding and increasing judicial bias.
Rachel Ellett, Pathways to Judicial Power in Transitional States: Perspectives from African Courts (1st ed.). London: Routledge, 2013. Summary: This book examines the complex relationship that exists between the construction of judicial power, and the institutional characteristics of the courts and their regime setting. It examines the intriguing connection between the construction of judicial power …
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 …
Mariana Llanos, Cordula Tibi Weber, Charlotte Heyl, and Alexander Stroh, “Informal Interference in the Judiciary in New Democracies: A Comparison of Six African and Latin American Cases.” Democratization, vol. 23, no. 7 (2016): 1236–53. Summary: This article focuses on the efforts of power holders – at the executive or the legislative level – to influence …
Charles Manga Fombad. “The Struggle to Defend the Independence of the Judiciary in Africa”. In Challenged Justice: In Pursuit of Judicial Independence. Edited by Shimon Shetreet, Hiram Chodosh, and Helland Eric, pp. 223-248. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill | Nijhoff, 2021 Summary: By design or default, Africa’s post-independence constitutions perpetuated a system of harsh authoritarian governance in …
Tamir Moustafa, The Struggle for Constitutional Power: Law, Politics, and Economic Development in Egypt. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Summary: This book examines how judicial reform can both support and destabilize authoritarian regimes, using Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court as a case study. It investigates the paradox of a regime that created a relatively independent court to …
This article examines how lawyers—as judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys—may contribute to sustaining corruption, while also exploring their potential role as agents of social change.