Litigation

I hold substantial experience in human rights and constitutional litigation at both the national level and regionally. I offer advisory support and representation in international courts with specific focus on human rights litigation in African regional courts, the African Court, the African Commission, the African Children’s Committee and the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
I also offer support and representation in constitutional litigation as well as strategic litigation campaign for both human rights and constitutional litigation at the national level and regionally.

Training

I have a long and diversified experience in training law professionals in Africa including among lawyers, civil society actors, judges, and law students on:

• - human rights law
• - human rights litigation
• - international criminal law and justice in Africa
• - African regional integration and institutions
• - constitutional law and litigation

I have worked as a trainer or facilitator with leading relevant institutions in Africa including the International Commission of Jurists, RADDHO, Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa, Global Rights, African Court Coalition, Trust Africa, African Union Department of Political Affairs, IDEA International, ECOWAS Court, Media Foundation for West Africa, Centre for Human Rights (Pretoria) and Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa.
I am an active member of the Pan African Lawyers Union, African Court Coalition, Benin Association of Constitutional Lawyers, African Association of Constitutional Lawyers, International Association of Constitutional Lawyers, Pretoria Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation Alumni Association.

Research

My experience in legal research and publication has been endorsed by leading research and publishing institutions. I associate with projects and institutions such as International Law in Domestic Courts, I.Connect, Oxford University Press, and Pretoria University Law Press.

Legal Audit and Consulting

My work in this field cuts across and is usual preliminary to our diverse intervention in litigation, training and research. The following engagements provide an overview of my portfolio :

• - Facilitator, Training for Barristers on the procedure before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Benin and Ghana, Dec 2017 - African Court Coalition


• - Trainer, Women’s rights litigation by civil society in the East African Court of Justice, Arusha, October 2017 - KELIN


• - Facilitator, VAW and SHRR Litigation Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa, Oct 2016 - Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA)


• - Consultant, Validation of Guidelines on Litigating Women’s Rights before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Nairobi, Kenya, 2016, Equality Now


• - Facilitator, Strategic Women’s Rights Litigation Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa, June 2016 - ISLA


• - Trainer, Training for Judges and Lawyers on human rights law and litigation in the African system, Conakry, Guinea, 2016 - Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA)


• - Facilitator and trainer, Training for Judges and Lawyers on human rights law and litigation in the African system, Bamako, Mali, 2015 - Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA)


• - Facilitator, Regional Workshop on Litigating the Maputo Protocol, Dakar, Senegal, 2015 - Equality Now


• - Trainer, Training for Judges and Lawyers on human rights law and litigation in the African system, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 2014 - IHRDA


• - Facilitator, Africa workshop on strategic litigation, 2012 - Global Rights Nigeria


• - Rapporteur, Conference ’Strengthening the SADC Tribunal’, 2011 - International Commission of Jurist Africa


• - Study on the implementation of a self-monitoring and evaluation mechanism for the Parliament of Benin, 2009 - Cellule d’Analyse des Politiques de Développement de l’Assemblée Nationale du Bénin

Teaching & Conferences

• - Accountability for international crimes in African regional courts, Civil Society Retreat on Advancing international criminal justice in West Africa, Trust Africa, 7-8 March 2017
• - Recent developments in the jurisprudence of the African Court, Side event by Trust Africa and the African Court Coalition, 58th Ordinary Session of the African Commission, Banjul, October 2016


• - Litigating human rights in the African Court in an era of complementarity, Side event by the NGO Litigants’ Group, 58th Ordinary Session of the African Commission, Banjul, October 2016


• - Overview of the operation of the African Court, African Court sensitization seminar for media professionals from West and Central Africa, Arusha, 2016


• - African Union Regional Normative Framework and the Role of the Judiciary in the Strengthening of the Rule of Law and Constitutionalism, Regional Meeting with the Representatives of the Judiciary to Strengthen the Rule of Law and Justice Reform in Southern Africa, African Union Department of Political Affairs, Johannesburg, Nov 2015


• - Challenges and Opportunities of African Constitutionalism: The Role of National, Regional and Continental Parliaments, Consultation with the Pan African Parliament and Regional Parliaments to Promote Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law in Africa, African Union Department of Political Affairs, Johannesburg, Nov 2015


• - Application of the African Charter in Francophone Africa, Colloquium on the application of the African Charter in domestic courts in Africa, Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, Nov 2012


• - Effectiveness of the ECOWAS Court of Justice: The role of regional courts, domestic courts and civil society, International conference on ’the role of the ECOWAS Court in human rights, democracy and good governance’, ECOWAS Court and UNDP, Accra, Oct 2012


• - The state’s duty to investigation human rights violations: The South African experience -- Putting the jurisprudence on the duty to investigation into practice - Taking strategic and public interest litigation cases to sub-regional forums: Focus on the ECOWAS Court of Justice - Status of the human rights judgments of the ECOWAS Court of Justice: Implications on human rights and democracy in the region, Africa Workshop on Strategic Litigation, Global Rights Nigeria, Abuja, 4-6 Sept 2012


• - Enforcement of judgments of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice and implications on democracy and human rights in West Africa, Civil Society Forum, Media Foundation for West Africa, Abuja, Jul 2012


• - Sub-Regional Economic Communities and the protection of human rights in Africa, Human Rights in Africa Advanced Course, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, Oct 2011


• - The African Charter in the Constitutional Protection of Human Rights in Benin: Incorporation, Application et Reparation, 30 years of the African Charter conference, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, Jul 2011


• - Overview of judicial decisions of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice and their implementation status, West African symposium on the enforcement of judicial decisions from sub-regional tribunals: Gains, challenges and opportunities, International Commission of Jurists, Dakar, Jun 2011


• - Domestic human rights litigation in African Francophone countries, ILDC Conference - 19th African Human Rights Moot Court Competition, Cotonou, Oct 2010
  
• - The use of international by domestic courts, ILDC seminar for judges and lawyers, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, 2009