Wakilii

Makoge v USA (Communication 5 of 1988)

African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights · [1988] ACHPR 17 · 1988 Communication Inadmissible AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Communication to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights concerning activities of the USA in Africa
Decision
Communication inadmissible for lack of jurisdiction over non-party state

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights declared the communication inadmissible on the ground that it was directed against the United States of America, a state which is not a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The Commission lacks jurisdiction over non-party states.

Outcome

Communication inadmissible for lack of jurisdiction over non-party state

Facts

Prince J.N. Makoge filed a communication dated 29 August 1986 with the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights concerning activities of the United States of America in Africa. The communication was considered at the Commission's fourth ordinary session held from 17 to 26 October 1988. The United States is not a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Issues

  1. Whether the African Commission has jurisdiction to consider a communication directed against a state that is not a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Orders

  • Communication declared inadmissible.

Rules and key headnotes

Human Rights — Jurisdiction — African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights — Ratione Personae
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has no jurisdiction to consider communications directed against states that are not parties to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Legislation cited (2)

  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights art.30
  • Rules of Procedure of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights art.101

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Makoge v USA (Communication 5 of 1988) [1988] ACHPR 17 (26 October 1988)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.