Between legal tradition and transformation: Constitutional interpretation of fundamental rights by the Constitutional Courts of Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa

Abstract

A rigorous and original comparative study of constitutional interpretation in Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa, this book explores how the Constitutional Courts of these countries shaped protection of fundamental 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.

The book transcends what might be termed ‘monological’ comparative constitutional analyses, those that limit comparisons to constitutional objects within a single legal tradition. Instead, it offers dialogical, cross-tradition insights that help scholars, practitioners, judges, and regional and international human rights bodies understand how and why similar human rights provisions may be interpreted differently, why some constitutional courts succeed or fail in their role of regulating or humanising politics, and what theoretical and practical justifications exist for sustained intra-African engagement aimed at enhancing the quality of human rights protection beyond inherited legal traditions.