Draft:Strategic Litigation

Strategic Litigation

Strategic litigation as a means of achieving equality for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) persons is a strategy being used across Africa. Strategic litigation, a form of public interest litigation to realise significant change in the law through the court system, has emerged as an avenue for the realisation of human rights for LGB people. For example, despite the hostile socio-political ecosystem in many countries, strategic litigation cases around LGB rights have been on the rise with varying outcomes.

Synopsis

Dr. Adrian Jjuuko is a Ugandan human rights lawyer, researcher and consultant. He is the founder and Executive Director of the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF). HRAPF operates the first and only specialised legal aid clinic for marginalised persons in Uganda and has been instrumental in carrying out advocacy and strategic litigation against laws that violate or threaten the rights of LGB persons and other minorities in Uganda. Dr. Jjuuko holds an LLD from the University of Pretoria, an LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the University of Pretoria, an LLB from Makerere University Kampala, Uganda, and a postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre, Kampala.

In the book, Adrian Jjuuko provides an elaborate discourse on strategic litigation of LGB rights despite the high levels of homophobia that characterises many African societies. He sheds light on the work of activists in the struggle for lesbian, gay, and bisexual equality, providing many transferable lessons for other regions and fields of activism.

Jjuko compels the reader to interrogate whether litigation is actually a helpful strategy to advance lesbian, gay and bisexual equality in Africa in the absence of a conducive economic, social and political environment. Following an analysis of 30 strategic cases that have been filed by LGBT activists in Common Law African countries, namely Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda, the book cautions against using the court system without factoring in external economic and social-political factors. The author notes that while the majority of the cases thus far have been successful in changing the law, they have not resulted in broader social change or community acceptance of LGB people in any of the countries explored. On the contrary, due to the current style of strategic litigation pursued there has been a backlash. This backlash has provided an opportune environment for counter-mobilisations, violence against LGB persons, further criminalisation of same-sex relations and constitutional prohibitions on same-sex marriages in some of the jurisdictions.

Against this backdrop, the book discusses factors that influence the chances of achieving social change through litigation. According to Professor Siri Gloppen, the book identifies the main issues that need to be considered as LGB litigation strategies are being developed, including the contextual realities of the country. Jjuko demonstrates that no matter how well-organised a strategic case is, the state of democracy, judicial independence, the nature of the economic system, the level of economic development, and socio-religious culture must be taken into consideration to increase the chances of lasting success.

Publication History

The first edition of the book was published in 2020 by Daraja Press.