BETWEEN LEGAL TRADITION AND TRANSFORMATION, constitutional interpretation of fundamental rights by the Constitutional Courts of Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Africa

401pp., hardback, PULP, Pretoria, 2026

ISBN: 9781067237271

This comparative study explores how the Constitutional Courts of Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa shaped protection of fundamental human rights across diverse legal traditions.

While these jurisdictions employ similar interpretive methods, their judicial outcomes often diverge, shaped by distinct historical, political, and institutional contexts. Blending doctrinal analysis with bold normative insight, the work advocates for closer synergy between civil law and common law traditions to strengthen human rights protection in Africa.

Trésor Muhindo Makunya is Associate Professor of Public Law at the University of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Extraordinary Lecturer at the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (UP), where he is Co-Editor of the African Human Rights Yearbook, Convening Editor of the African Court Law Report, and on the Editorial Board of Pretoria University Law Press. He is Senior Research Fellow at the South African Research Chair in International Constitutional Law at UP, a senior consultant with the Independent Evaluation Group and the Fragility, Violence and Conflict department of the World Bank Group, and consults to a wide range of organisations. He is the Founder of Makoki International Hub, a DRC not-for-profit organisation specialised in human rights research and education, and co-editor of the book, The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa: A Commentary (2023).