The Application of the Doctrine of Res Judicata in the Context of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights: Analysis of the Court’s Decisions in the Gombert and Dexter Cases

Abstract

As part of an ongoing discussion on the proliferation of the human rights judicial mechanism, this article critically analyses and unpacks the only two examples where the African Court had to decide on the application of the doctrine of res judicata under Article 56(7) of the African Charter. The Court declared both applications inadmissible on the grounds of their previous settlements by the ECOWAS Court of Justice and the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The article demonstrates that while the Court’s decision in the Gombert case appears to be correct in principle, its finding in the Dexter case is highly questionable and unconvincing.