La marge nationale d’appréciation dans la jurisprudence de la Cour africaine des droits de l’homme et des peuples : entre effleurements et remises en cause (Sâ Benjamin Traoré & Patrick Ane-Ane Leta)

Whereas the margin of appreciation doctrine has been extensively invoked by international and regional human rights supervisory bodies, its application by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ rights (ACrHPR) has been relatively scarce and poorly elaborated. The purpose of this article is to critically assess the rapport of the ACrHPR to the concept of national margin of appreciation through systematic scrutiny of its case law. The article shows that despite its firm foundations in the African human rights system, the concept of margin of appreciation lacks a consistent and robust recognition and is disregarded in several instances by the ACrHPR. It is contended that such an attitude has a damaging consequence to states’ adherence to the Arusha Court’s jurisprudence and its legitimacy.