African Conference on the Rule of Law Lagos, Nigeria January 3-7,1961 A REPORT ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF JURISTS GENEVE 1961 The International Commission of Jurists is a non-governmental organization which has Consultative Status, Category “B”, with the United Nations Eco­ nomic and Social Council. The Commission seeks to foster understanding of and respect for the Rule of Law. The Members of the Commission are : JOSEPH T. THORSON President of the Exchequer Court of Canada (Honorary President) VIVIAN BOSE Former Judge of the Supreme Court of India (President) PER T. FEDBRSPIEL President ol the Council of Europe; Member of (Vice-President) the Danish Parliament; Barrister-at-Law, Copen­ hagen JOSE T. NABUCO Member of the Bar of Rio de Janeiro* Brazil (Vice-President) SIR ADETOKUNBO A. ADEMOLA Chief Justice of Nigeria ARTURO A. ALAFRIZ President of the Federation of Bar Associations of the Philippines GUISEPPE BETTIOL Member of the Italian Parliament; Professor of Law at the University of Padua DUDLEY B. BONSAL Immediate Past President of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, USA PHILIPPE N. BOULOS Former Governor of Beirut; former Minister of Justice of Lebanon J. J. CARBAJAL VICTORICA Attorney-at-Law; Professor of Public Law at the University of Montevideo, Uruguay; former Minister U CHAN HTOON Judge of the Supreme Court of the Union of Burma A. J. M. VAN DAL Attomey-at-Law at the Supreme Court of the Netherlands SIR OWEN DIXON Chief Justice of Australia ISAAC FORSTER Procureur General of the Republic of Senegal OSVALDO ILLANES BENITEZ Judge of the Supreme Court of Chile t RUDOLF KATZ Vice-President of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany JEAN KREHER Advocate at the Court of Appeal, Paris, France AXEL HENRIK MUNKTELL Member of the Swedish Parliament; Professor of Law at the University of Uppsala PAUL-MAURICE ORB AN Professor of Law at the University of Ghent, Belgium; former Minister; former Senator STEFAN OSUSKY Former Minister of Czechoslovakia to Great Britain and France; former Member of the Czechoslovak Government LORD SHAWCROSS Former Attorney-General of England BENJAMIN R. SHUTE Attomey-at-Law, New York KOTARO TANAKA Judge of the International Court of Justice; former Chief Justice of Japan PURSHOTTAM TRIKAMDAS Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India; Secretary, Indian Bar Association; sometime Secretary to Mahatma Gandhi H. B. TYABJI Barrister-at-Law, Karachi, Pakistan; former Judge of the Chief Court of the Sind Secretary-General: SIR LESLIE MUNRO, K.C.M.G., K.C.V.O. Former President of the General Assembly of die United Nations Administrative Secretary: EDWARD S. KOZERA Former Lecturer in Government, Columbia University INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF JURISTS, 6, RUE DU MONT-DE-SION, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND TABLE OF CONTENTS introduction by Jean-Flavien L aliv.............................................. e 5 I. GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE CONFERENCE LAW OF LAGOS....................... ................................................. I I DECLARATION OF D E L H I................................................................. 12 ACT OF ATHENS..................................................................... 13 CONCLUSIONS OF THE CONFERENCE.............................................. 15 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS AND OBSERVERS..................................... 23 PROGRAMME OF THE CONFERENCE.............................................. 32 II. WORKING PAPERS OF THE CONFERENCE DRAFT OUTLINE FOR THE NATIONAL REPORTS FOR THE AFRICAN CONFERENCE..................................................................... 37 LIST OF NATIONAL REPORTS............................................................ 40 GENERAL repo rt by D r. T . O. E l i a s .......................................... 42 INTRODUCTORY REPORT TO THE FIRST COMMITTEE by A . W a d e ..................................... ....................................................... 56 INTRODUCTORY REPORT TO THE THIRD COMMITTEE by H . C h i t e p o ........................................................................................ 69 III. PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE OPENING PLENARY SESSION............................................................ 85 FIRST COMMITTEE............................................................................... 96 SECOND COMMITTEE.......................................................................... 115 THIRD COMMITTEE.............................................................................. 133 PLENARY SESSION.............................................................................. 157 CLOSING PLENARY SESSION............................................................ 161 FOREWORD The International Commission of Jurists went to Africa, not to preach any revealed Truth, but to open a debate. This debate has no fixed time limit - on the contrary, the danger lies rather in winding it up too hastily or prematurely. The initiative of the Commission in calling an African Con­ ference, and inviting to it in their personal capacities lawyers from the different countries South of the Sahara, sprang from a realisa­ tion of the deep-rooted love of justice inherent in African tradition; the intention was to measure against this tradition the legal systems which are the legacy of the colonial powers, and to assess the poli­ tical situation in the newly-independent States in the lights of the guiding principles of the Rule of Law. As is known, the principle objective of the International Com­ mission of Jurists is to act as the guardian of human rights and fundamental freedoms in order to “protect the individual against arbitrary acts of government and to enable him to enjoy fundamental human dignity”. The main conclusion that emerged from the Lagos Conference was that the dignity of the human person is a universal concept, regardlessjrf the different forms it may assume in one or another cultural environment. African lawyers emphatically rejected any notion of a purely African juridical system, as distinct from other systems, constructed solely on the basis of native custom. Africans have elaborated a concept of human dignity during the crucial years leading to their emancipation which recognises no limitations whatsoever. At Lagos, African lawyers proclaimed their faith in the Rule of Law and theConclusions of the Delhi Congress. They declared that they would be guided by local tradition and equally by foreign example. They have thus shown that the Rule of Law is in fact a concept shared by countries “having varying political structures and economic background” and that it is not bound up with any par­ ticular ideology. Africa is fortunate in that it may choose freely. Wisdom would dictate fusing the best elements of its own way of life with those characteristic of other parts of the world. Observers at the Lagos Conference from other continents were deeply impressed by the African lawyers’ determination to avoid sacrificing fundamental freedoms to economic and technological development. It is quite evident that the new African States must simultaneously cope with establishing their political institutions, 5 developing their economy and settling their social structure, without abandoning, if at all possible, the most valuable elements of their traditional institutions, such as the solidarity of the community and the family. Confronted with an order of priorities, African lawyers persist in the belief that the protection of human rights is the only solid basis for any new society. They are fully aware of the threats to personal freedom in some countries despite their newly-won political autonomy. They have only recently gained emancipation from colo­ nial rule, and have no intention of falling prey to any homegrown despotism. For instance, the administrative power of detention with­ out trial, in itself to be condemned, does not become any more com­ mendable because it happens to be exercised by a national govern­ ment with wide popular support; on the contrary, this makes it all the more regrettable. African lawyers’ concern for personal freedoms was highlighted at the Congress by the proposal made by some of them that an African convention for the protection of human rights be drafted. The convention would fit into an international system for the pro­ tection of human rights, already existing in Europe and taking form in Latin America. The suggestion found support, which shows that the first stage towards African unity might well be some form of uniform and coordinated safeguard of the basic rights having effect in all African countries. The Lagos Conference was an appreciable step forward towards the union of Africa in yet another way. The participants were drawn equally from the English-speaking and French-speaking countries; for many of them this was their first opportunity to meet lawyers brought up in a legal system quite different from their own. They were able to appreciate the importance of education in com­ parative law and the value of foreign language studies. African universities are in fact paying great attention to these two subjects, and undoubtedly have a decisive role to play in encouraging cul­ tural exchanges throughout the continent. This report will give some indication of the significance of the Lagos Conference in the campaign of the International Commission of Jurists to ensure that the Rule of Law prevails all over the world. The reassertion of theAct of Athens and the Declaration of Delhi is a further step in the process. While the