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Background to the African Human Rights Law Journal

Welcome to the website of the African Human Rights Law Journal (AHRLJ), a leading peer-reviewed journal focused on human rights related topics of relevance to Africa, Africans and scholars of Africa. As democratic practices and the protection of human rights struggle to become rooted in Africa, the Journal aims to contribute towards strengthening indigenous African scholarship.

The first issue of the AHRLJ appeared in 2001. Since then, the Journal has appeared twice a year, in July and December, without interruption. 

The full text of the AHRLJ is made freely available online immediately upon publication. The AHRLJ is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).  

The copyright of articles are retained by the author(s), without restriction; and the author(s) also retain publishing rights.

The Journal does not have any submission or article processing charges.

The AHRLJ is published by the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP) which took over from Juta as publisher in 2013. It is published in association with the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria.

The AHRLJ still publishes a small amount of printed copies for each volume, which are sent out to the required Legal Depository addresses as per the Legal Deposit Act, Act 54 of 1997.  All journal content, dating back to the first issue of 2001, is available and will be maintained on the Journal’s web site (www.ahrlj.up.ac.za).  Earlier issues of the Journal are also availabel from JUTA Publisher (https://juta.co.za/catalogue/african-human-rights-law-journal-2000-2012-online_22320/).

The Journal is published only in English.

Feedback and criticism:  Any suggestions for improving any aspect of the Journal, including its content and editorial approach, are welcomed, and should be submitted at any time to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Management of the African Human Rights Law Journal

Editors

Frans Viljoen 
Editor-in-chief; Professor, Department of Public Law, Affiliate, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa 
 
Magnus Killander 
Professor, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria 
 
Solomon Ebobrah 
Vice Chancellor, University of Africa, Toru-Orua; Extraordinary lecturer, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria 
 
Usang Maria Assim 
Associate professor, University of the Western Cape, South Africa 
 
Evelyne Asaala 
Senior lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Nairobi, Kenya 
 
Elsabe Boshoff 
Doctoral candidate, Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo, Norway 
 
Martin Nsibirwa
Head of Research, South African Human Rights Commission 

Publication Manager

Isabeau de Meyer
Programme Manager, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria

International editorial advisory board

The Journal has an editorial board consisting of recognized experts in the field. As at 1 January 2020, the followings were members of the Board:

Jean Allain 
Professor of Public International Law, Monash University, Australia 
 
Fareda Banda 
Professor in the Laws of Africa, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 
 
Gina Bekker 
Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Monash University, Australia 
 
Victor Dankwa 
Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Ghana, former Member, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights 
 
John Dugard 
Extraordinary professor, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria 
 
Edward Kwakwa 
Assistant Director-General, World Intellectual Property Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland 
 
Sandy Liebenberg HF Oppenheimer 
Chair in Human Rights Law, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa 
 
Tiyanjana Maluwa 
H Laddie Montague Chair in Law, Professor of Law and International Affairs, Penn State Law, Pennsylvania State University, USA 
 
Obiora Chinedu Okafor 
Edward B Burling Chair in International Law and Institutions, Johns Hopkins University, USA 
 
Joe Oloka-Onyango 
Retired Professor of Law, School of Law, Makerere University, Uganda 
 
Kate O’Regan 
Former Justice, Constitutional Court of South Africa; Director, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, University of Oxford, United Kingdom 
 
Fatsah Ouguergouz 
Former Judge, African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights 
 
Sylvia Tamale 
Retired Professor of Law, School of Law, Makerere University, Uganda 
 
Nsongurua Ubombana 
Professor of International Law; Legal Consultant, Lagos, Nigeria

Abstracting and indexing articles from the African Human Rights Law Journal

The African Human Rights Law Journal may be found in the following databases: