PART A: Background to the African Regional Human Rights System The EACJ functions on a part-time basis, which means that judges gather in Arusha only when the necessity arises, as determined by the EAC Council of Ministers.108 The Court can issue decisions in individual cases as well as advisory opinions relating to ‘a question of law arising from [this] Treaty’109 and binding interim measures, ‘which it considers necessary or desirable’.110 An application to review the Court’s decisions may be lodged only if it ‘is based upon the discovery of some fact which by its nature might have had a decisive influence on the judgment if it had been known to the Court at the time the judgment was given, but which fact, at that time, was unknown to both the Court and the party making the application, and which could not, with reasonable diligence, have been discovered by that party before the judgment was made’.111 Article 34 of the EAC Treaty provides that in addition to the EACJ, national courts of member States are also competent to interpret Treaty provisions as well as ‘validity of the regulations, directives, decisions or actions of the Community’. However, under Article 33, decisions of the Court regarding the application and interpretation of provisions of the Treaty ‘shall have precedence over decisions of national courts on a similar matter’.112 a) Mandate, Composition and Jurisdiction The EACJ is mandated to ensure adherence with the law in the interpretation and compliance with the EAC Treaty. The Court consists of two chambers: a First Instance Division and an Appellate Division. The latter has jurisdiction to hear and determine any judgement or order of the First Instance Division on ‘points of law’, ‘grounds of lack of jurisdiction’ or ‘procedural irregularity’.113 Under Article 24 of the Treaty, the EAC Summit is responsible for appointing judges ‘from among persons recommended by the Partner States who are of proven integrity, impartiality and independence’. The same Partner State can provide no more than two judges for the First Instance Division or one judge for the Appellate Division.114 The term of service of the judges is non-renewable and lasts 7 years. Article 27 of the Treaty sets out the jurisdiction of the Court as follows: ‘the Court shall initially have jurisdiction over the interpretation and application of [this] 108 For further information on the Establishment of the East African Court of Justice, see: http://eacj. org/?page_id=19. 109 EAC Treaty, Chapter 8, Article 36(1). 110 Ibid., Article 39. 111 EAC Treaty, Article 35(3). 112 EAC Treaty, Article 33(2). 113 EAC Treaty, Articles 23(1)-23(3) and 35(a). 114 Ibid., Article 24(1). 37