About the African Innovation Foundation. Context. African Law Library and Governance An Innovative access to law

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1 African Law Library and Governance An Innovative access to law About the African Innovation Foundation Elodie de Warlincourt, Foundation Director and Member of the Management Team Pauline Mujawamariya, Programme Director, Innovation Prize for Africa and Member of the Management Team Sophie Bussmann, Programme Director, African Law Library and Member of the Management Team Context The African Innovation Foundation (AIF) is a Swiss registered Foundation that helps mobilize innovation supporting sustainable development in Africa. AIF s areas of activity encompass innovative programmes in the fields of access to technologies, law and governance, education, culture and health. The Foundation seeks to establish cooperation platforms for institutions, investors and innovators and to promote ideas to support them. Despite its many challenges, Africa s average GDP growth at around 5 percent has topped the global average over the past decade, demonstrating the continent s greater than expected resilience during the global economic crisis. This regional growth has brought about a major shift in economic and governance models that are actively contributing to shaping this growth. AIF also promotes transparent processes and procedures within the public sector and combats illegitimate appropriation and dissipation of resources within both the private and public domains. An Executive Committee holds responsibility for the overall management of the Foundation. It is composed of: Walter Fust, Chairman of the Board Jean Claude Bastos de Morais, Founder and Board Member

2 FREE ONLINE LIBRARY ON AFRICAN LAW AND GOVERNANCE While most economic outlook reports show a broadly positive near future for the world s second fastest-growing region, the rule of law, including customary law, is essential to the economic development of the African continent. In the meantime, access to law is the cornerstone for the creation of a conducive environment in which wider development efforts can take root and flourish for social cohesion, political stability and sustainable development. The African Law Library (ALL) is a flagship programme of the African Innovation Foundation and it purpose is to facilitate access to law in Africa. Programme Objectives The ALL platform ( is an innovative online portal and free-of-charge one-stop-shop database for African people from business, government and civil society. It aims to deepen the continent s integration agenda and renew commitment to a sustainable path of growth and development through access to African law and governance. Access to downloadable and printable full legal texts, selected court decisions and secondary literature from African countries Multilingual platform, searchable by subjects, keywords, country, type of document Collections classification by country, themes, type of organization and document, including secondary literature Available online articles on law and governance in Africa harvested from diverse sources NETWORKING AND COMPARATIVE RESEARCH Platform for peers to interact and exchange ideas Network of participants and searchable directory of experts Online workgroups (national, continental, intercontinental) Virtual thematic research groups Target Groups Governments: Decision makers, parliamentarians, civil servants/public administrations, public committees, legal professionals such as judges, etc. Private sector: Lawyers, legal advisers, etc. Academics: Teachers; Masters, Doctoral, High School and Secondary School students in the fields of law, civic education and governance Civil society: Media and the general public

3 Our Partners The growing partners base of the ALL programme demonstrates the importance of the initiative for the continent as well as the trust placed in the African Innovation Foundation. Since October 2012 the ALL team has conducted outreach trips across Africa to build constructive partnerships and promote its activities on the continent. Agreements concluded with the various partners allow access to a comprehensive collection of legislation, law reports, court decisions and legal doctrine, and other relevant legal texts pertaining to African countries for the use in the Foundation s online African Law Library. Proud of the confidence shown by the growing partner network, which demonstrates the importance of the initiative, AIF confirms its pan-africanism as the ALL programme enters its implementation phase II. NATIONAL PARTNERS Benin Centre de Documentation et d Information Juridique,, de la Législation et des Droits de l Homme Faculté de Droit et des Sciences Politiques, Université d Abomey - Calavi Chaire UNESCO des Droits de la Personne et de la Démocratie, Université d Abomey - Calavi Cameroon Faculté de Droit et des Sciences Économiques de Yaoundé II, Soa Université Catholique d Afrique Centrale (UCAC) Legal Information website Cape Verde Assembleia Nacional Instituto Superior de Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais Congo Assemblée Nationale Bibliothèque de l Université Marien Ngouabi Faculté de Droit, Université Marien Ngouabi Democratic Republic of Congo Assemblée Nationale Cour Suprême Faculté de Droit, Université de Kinshasa Faculté de Droit, Université Protestante du Congo Journal Officiel Ethiopia Justice and Legal System Research Institute (JLSRI) Faculty of Law, University of Addis-Ababa Faculty of Law, St Mary s University College

4 Gabon Université Omar Bongo (UOB) Ministère des Droits de l Homme (en cours) Parlement - Assemblée Nationale et Sénat (en cours) Cour de Cassation (en cours) Ghana Ghana School of Law Kenya National Council of Law Reporting Digital Data Divide Madagascar Université de Tananarive Ministère de la Fonction Publique, du Travail et des Lois Sociales (en cours) Mali Université des Sciences Juridiques et Politiques de Bamako Mauritius Law Reform Commission Supreme Court of Justice Faculty of Law and Management, University of Mauritius Nigeria Faculty of Law, University of Abuja Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) Senegal Alliance pour Refonder la Gouvernance en Afrique (ARGA) South Africa Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria Legal Resources Centre Tanzania The Judiciary of Tanzania Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) Togo Cour Suprême du Togo Faculté de Droit, Université de Lomé Tunisia Faculté des Sciences Juridiques et Politiques, Université de Carthage, Tunis Imprimerie Officielle de la République Tunisienne Uganda Uganda Legal Information Institute Library of Makerere University Regional Partners African Union African Court on Human and Peoples Rights Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Organization for the Harmonization of African Business Law (OHADA) The full list of partners is continuously updated online and available at:

5 Events calendar PAST EVENTS November 2012: by the vice-president of the African Union Commission in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia (African Union HQ) December 2012: Programme Launch in Geneva, Switzerland May 2013: 1 st Partners Workshop, Nairobi, Kenya March 2014: 2 nd Partners Workshop, Cotonou, Benin UPCOMING EVENTS October 2014: 3 rd Partners Workshop, Rabat, Morocco March 2015: 4 th Partners Workshop (Exact dates and locations to be confirmed) October 2015: 5 th Partners Workshop (Exact dates and locations to be confirmed) Contact For further information about the African Law Library Programme, please contact: Mrs Rosa Aba Hänseler Programme Coordinator, African Law Library rosa.haenseler@africaninnovation.org Tel.: +41 (0) You can also visit our online platform at: Follow us Facebook: AfricanLawLibrary African Innovation Foundation 3, Place Isaac-Mercier 1201 Geneva Switzerland Tel.: +41 (022) Fax: +41 (022)