Download Call for papers 2025
CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSION OF FULL PAPERS: 31 JULY 2025
The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Court), the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission), and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children’s Committee) are pleased to invite submissions for fully developed articles and case discussions aiming to make ground-breaking academic-style contributions to the human rights discourse in Africa.
Although the contributions are expected to take a continental (African) approach to the issues they cover, country-specific or sub-regional level case studies that relate to the African regional human rights system will also be considered. In so far as methodology is concerned, contributions adopting multidisciplinary and empirical approaches are highly encouraged.
Scopus Accreditation
To further enrich its impact and credibility, the Yearbook has recently received accreditation with SCOPUS, an international citation database launched in 2004. Journals listed in Scopus are considered to meet the requirement for peer review quality established by several research grant agencies for their grant recipients and by degree accreditation boards in numerous countries including South Africa, where the Centre for Human Rights is based. For example, papers from authors based at or affiliated to South African higher education institutions from 2024 qualify for subsidy from the Department of Higher Education. This accreditation bears testament to the rigorous editorial standards and scholarly significance of the Yearbook in enriching the intellectual wealth of the African human rights discourse.
Invitation for Contributions for Volume 9 (2025)
We invite abstracts for articles and case discussions proposing to make ground-breaking academicstyle contributions to the human rights discourse in Africa. Although the contributions are expected to take a continental (African) approach to the issues they cover, country-specific or sub-regional level case studies that relate to the African regional human rights system will also be considered. In so far as methodology is concerned, contributions adopting multidisciplinary and empirical approaches are highly encouraged.
A. Articles focused on aspects of the African human rights system, established under the auspices of the African Union
B. Articles related to the African Union theme of the Year 2025: “Advancing Justice through Reparations: Reparations, Restoration, and Renaissance”
A Conference devoted to this theme is held on 2 and 3 June 2025, in Pretoria, South Africa. Successfully reviewed papers presented at this Conference will be published in the 2025 African Human Rights Yearbook.
Papers not presented at the Conference may also be submitted for consideration.
See the Call for this Conference
C. Case Commentaries
This section of the Yearbook invites critical analyses of the decisions the African Court, the African Commission and the African Children’s Committee – especially most recently decided cases.
Guidelines for submission of contribution
Fully developed articles (of no more than 10,000 words, footnotes included) and case discussions (of no more than 8,000 words, footnotes included) should be submitted, before or by 31 July 2025 by email to:
Contributions should include: (i) the author’s current designation, academic qualifications and ORCID number; (ii) a summary of no more than 250 words, setting out the aim of the contribution, the methodology and the main findings. The submission must be original and not have already
been published or submitted elsewhere.
Review process
Papers will undergo double-blind peer review. Authors will be expected to incorporate comments, if any, and submit a revised and final paper by 30 September 2025. Accepted papers will be published in the ninth volume of the Yearbook, which is expected to appear in December 2025.
Submission guidelines
- The submission must be original and not have already been published or submitted elsewhere.
- Articles should be between 8 000 and 10 000 words (including footnotes) in length.
- Case comments should be between 5 000 and 8 000 words (including footnotes) in length, and should include web links to cases cited.
- Contributions may be submitted in Arabic, English, French or Portuguese; and should be edited for language before submission.
- Use UK English for papers submitted in English.
- Please adhere to the Pretoria University Law Press (PULP) style guidelines
- Please also refer to previous volumes of the Yearbook to familiarise yourself with the in-house style.
Remuneration
Contributions to the African Human Rights Yearbook are not remunerated. However, inrecognition of their intellectual work and the value it adds to the Yearbook, authors of finallyaccepted papers will be added to a database of thematic experts of the African Court, theAfrican Commission, and the Children’s Committee.
No page fees are charged.
Any questions on this call for papers should be directed to:
