Enforcement of international human rights law in domestic courts in Mozambique and Ghana

Abstract

"The domestic courts have not been able to enforce international human rights in Mozambique and there are no institutions to address the concerns of victims of human rights abuses. A limited number of NGO's operating in the field of human rights play a role, which is not significant considering the number. Several factors, for example, the lack of knowledge of international human rights instruments by the people in charge of administration of justice such as judges, prosecutors, or even lawyers and legal assistants, may explain this. The present paper is an attempt to explore why the international human rights norms are not enforced in the Mozambican legal system; this will be done in a comparison with the situation [in] Ghana. ... This paper is structured in five chapters. Chapter one is the introductory chapter, it essentially introduces the topic, discusses the manner in which the research will be caried out, namely the methodological approach used, literature review, objectives of the study and its limitations, [and] last but not least, it outlines the research questions and the hypothesis. Chapter two gives the definitions of the main concepts used in this paper; it goes further in discussing the relationship between national law and international law focusing [on] the theories of monism and dualism. It also analyses the constitutional provisions dealing with international law in the Mozambican and Ghanaian legal order in the light of the monist and dualist theories. Chapter three discusses the sources of international human rights law and their implications [for] the enforcement of internationl human rights law in domestic courts. It goes further by discussing the principles governing domestic applicability of international human rights law and finally discusses the obstacles to the enforcement. Chapter four is the case study of this paper: it analyses how international human rights law is enforced by domestic courts in Mozambique and Ghana and several other aspects around the judiciary and the international human rights law training. Chapter five finally draws conclusions and gives recommendations on what should be done to ensure the enforcement of international human rights law in domestic courts." -- Introduction.