A merging of the
African Court on Human and People's Rights and the
Court of Justice of the African Union was proposed by the chairperson of the Assembly of the
African Union and the head of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President
Olusegun Obasanjo, in 2004. This idea of uniting the two courts was raised because of the African Union's insufficient funds. In January 2005, a panel of legal experts assembled in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to formulate a draft protocol that honored the integrity of the two independent courts, yet established a way to regulate the decorum of the now merged court. Afterwards, a panel met in Nigeria to propose a draft protocol to the Executive Council of the African Union. In March 2005, the draft was approved and was passed to legal experts for their recommendations. The recommendations were presented at the African Union Summit in
Sirte, Libya. It was decided that the headquarters would be in the
East region of Africa by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government. ==References==