East African Court of Justice, 15th November 2024: The President of the East African Court of Justice, Hon. Justice Nestor Kayobera, alongside other Court judges, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Legal Information Institute (AfricanLII), part of the Faculty of Law at the University of Cape Town, and Laws.Africa NPO, based in Cape Town, South Africa. Representing AfricanLII at the signing was Ms. Mariya Badeva, Project Lead and Africa Director.
The MOU formalizes the collaboration between EACJ, AfricanLII and Laws. Africa in advancing he digitization and dissemination of EACJ Jurisprudence and enhancing accessibility and promoting transparency within the legal community.
Realising their mutual interest and in pursuit of their common agenda and respective missions, the three parties agreed to collaborate on projects designed to:
- disseminate widely the publicly available documentation of the EACJ;
- assist with the digitization and publication of court jurisprudence on the EACJ website, on the AfricanLII regional platform, and other LII websites in Africa;
- provide electronic legal research training to EACJ judges and staff; and
- facilitate regular consultations to define other projects in support of the common mission and in the interest of Africans.
The EACJ President, Hon. Justice Nestor Kayobera in commending AfricanLII for agreeing to collaborate with the EACJ in this project, emphasized the significance of this collaboration by highlighting that open access of the Court’s jurisprudence is a key driver for access to justice and as such the drive to digitize the EACJ’s jurisprudence will enable judges from the court and other jurisdictions, lawyers, legal scholars and other interested parties easily access information on the Court.
Ms. Mariya Badeva, AfricanLII Project Lead and Africa Director, in briefing the Judges on the work of AfricanLII in the continent and the region, emphasized the organization’s mission to make legal information accessible to the public. She noted that AfricanLII has historically maintained strong partnerships with national and regional judiciaries. She further shared that EACJ is the second regional court to establish such a collaboration, after the COMESA Court. Ms. Bedeva expressed gratitude to EACJ for agreeing to this partnership, which she believes will significantly enhance the dissemination and accessibility of EACJ judgments and other critical legal information.
Principal Judge Hon. Justice Yohane Masara expressed his appreciation for AfricanLII, noting his positive experience with their collaboration with the Judiciary of Tanzania. He expressed optimism that EACJ would greatly benefit from this new partnership.
In attendance were all Judges of the Appellate and First Instance Division, the Ag. Registrar and the Court Administrator.
About the Partner Organisations:
The AfricanLII
The African Legal Information Institute (AfricanLII), based at the Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town (UCT), is a programme of the Democratic Governance and Rights Unit (DGRU) deeply committed to and widely involved in supporting African governments and intergovernmental organisations to promote the rule of law, human rights and constitutionalism on the continent; and
The Laws.Africa NPO, a South African non-profit organisation which develops technology to unlock the value of African digital legal information in support of the rule of law, access to justice, and innovation, and develops and operates, together with AfricanLII, the pan-african research platform located at www.africanlii.org
About the EACJ
The East African Court of Justice (EACJ or ‘the Court’), is one of the Organs of the East African Community established under Article 9 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community. The Court was established in November 2001, its key mandate is to ensure the adherence to law in the interpretation and application of and compliance with the EAC Treaty. Arusha is the temporary seat of the Court until the Summit determines its permanent seat. The Court’s sub-registries are located in the capitals of the following Partner States: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania.
For more information please contact:
Christine Mutimura
Acting Registrar,
East African Court of Justice.
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: 255-27-2162149
Email: cmwekesa@eachq.org