To mark the 20th anniversary of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law is hosting a one-day workshop on 14 October 2026.
The workshop will explore the paradox of two simultaneous developments in human rights law. On the one hand, the African Court and other human rights courts have handed down judgments expanding the geographic, temporal, and social scope of human rights. Examples include cases on the extraterritorial scope of human rights, intergenerational justice, diversity, the rule of law, and the rights of nature.
On the other hand, the African Court and other human rights institutions are increasingly under distress. Member states, political movements, and societal groups reject human rights controls of specific domestic or international policies. The significance of human rights for international relations might be changing.
The workshop aims to map these diverging developments and the role of the African Court in this context. It will also analyse the driving factors behind the expansion of human rights and the backlashes against them. Taking a transcontinental perspective, the workshop brings African and European perspectives into conversation for mutual learning.
A limited number of places are available for engaged listeners, who will participate in the workshop as audience members. The organisers warmly invite all those interested in the topics under discussion, in particular human rights, African constitutional and international legal developments, and African–European relations.
We particularly welcome applications from early-career scholars, including current doctoral students, and from scholars working in institutions in the Global South.
How to apply: Please send a short letter of motivation (maximum 400 words) explaining your interest in the workshop, together with an up-to-date CV, to Ms Rocío Bargon Sánchez at office-aust@mpil.de by 15 September 2026. Successful applicants will be notified by 20 September 2026 at the latest.
Participation is free of charge. Participants are generally responsible for their own accommodation and travel costs and are strongly advised to make arrangements early.
· Courts at a CrossroadsPreliminary programme
Session 1: Human Rights Rising under Distress
Session 2: Human Rights Institutions Rising under Distress
Public Panel @ Deutsch Amerikanisches Institut (DAI)
