Charles Manga Fombad

Fombad is a professor of law and is based in the Institute for International and Comparative Law of the Faculty of Law.

He was previously the Head of Department of Public Law, of the Faculty of Law (2010-2012).

Fombad is member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, a fellow of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) and Vice President of the International Association of Constitutional Law.

Areas of Research interest- Constitutional law; Comparative Constitutional law: Legal history; Mixed legal systems; and Media law

He holds an LLM from University of Yaounde), a PhD from University of London and a Diploma Conflict Resolution from Uppsala University.

His publications include:

Accepted for Publication
Article: “Comparative research in contemporary African legal studies" forthcoming in African Journal of Legal Studies
Article: “Constitutional entrenchment of decentralisation in Africa: An overview of trends and tendencies,” (forthcoming in Journal of African law).
Book chapter: “The diffusion of South African-style institutions? A study in comparative constitutionalism,” in Theunis Roux and Rosalind Dixon, Anthology on Constitutional Triumphs, Constitutional Disappointments: A Critical Assessment of the 1996 South African Constitution's Local and International Influence.
Published during the past five years
(with Eric Kibet) “Transformative constitutionalism and the adjudication of constitutional rights in Africa,” 17(2) African Human Rights Law Journal (2017), pp. 340-366.
“Designing institutions and mechanisms for the implementation and enforcement of the constitution: Changing perspectives in Africa” 25 (1) African Journal of International and Comparative Law, (2017) pp. 66–90.
(with Lukman Abdulrauf) "Personal Data Protection in Nigeria: Reflections on Opportunities, Options and Challenges to Legal Reforms" 38(2) Liverpool Law Review, (2017), pp. 105-134.
(With Lukman Abdulrauf), “The African Union’s data protection Convention 2014: a possible cause for celebration of human rights in Africa?” 8 (1) Journal of Media Law (2016), pp. 67-97.
“Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in Eastern and Southern Africa: Some Reflections on their Legal Framework,” 15 African and Asian Studies (2016), pp. 289-335.
“State, Religion and Law in Cameroon: Regulatory Control, Tension and Accommodation,” 57(1) Journal of Church and State (2015), pp.18-43.
“Conceptualising a Framework for Inclusive, Fair and Robust Multiparty Democracy in Africa: The Constitutionalisation of the Rights of Political Parties,” 48(1) Law and Politics in Africa, Asia & Latin America (2015), pp. 3-27.
“Strengthening constitutional order and upholding the rule of law in central Africa: Reversing the descent towards symbolic constitutionalism,” 14 African Human Rights Law Journal (2014), pp. 412-448.
“Constitution-building in Africa: The Never-ending Story of the Making, Unmaking and Remaking of Constitutions,” 13(4) African and Asian Studies (2014), pp. 429-451.
“Gender Equality in African Customary Law: Has the Male Ultimogeniture Rule any Future in Botswana,” 52(3) Journal of Modern African Studies (2014), pp. 475-494.
“Appointment of Constitutional Adjudicators in Africa: Some Perspectives on How Different Systems Yield Similar Outcomes,” 46(2) Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law (2014), pp. 249-275.
“Africanisation of Legal Education Programmes : The Need for Comparative African Legal Studies,” 49(4) Journal of Asian and African Studies (2014), pp. 383-398.
(with Gift Manyatera ) “An Assessment of the Judicial Service Commission in Zimbabwe's new Constitution," 67(1) Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa (2014), pp. 89-108.
(With Adem K. Abebe), “The Advisory Jurisdiction of Constitutional Courts in Sub-Saharan Africa,” 46(1) George Washington International Law Review (2013), pp. 55-117.
(with Serges Alain Kamga) , “A Critical Review of the Jurisprudence of the African Commission on the Right to Development,” 57(2) Journal of African Law (2013), pp. 196-214.
“Some Perspectives on Durability and Change Under Modern African Constitutions,” 11(2) International Journal of Constitutional Law (2013), pp. 382-413.
“An Overview of the Constitutional Framework of the Right to Social Security with Special Reference to South Africa,” 21(1) African Journal of International and Comparative Law (2013), pp. 1-31.
“Some Reflections on the Prospects for the Harmonisation of International Business Laws in Africa: OHADA and Beyond,” 59(3) Africa Today (2013), pp. 51-80.
“Some Perspectives on Durability and Change Under Modern African Constitutions,” in Eunice Sahle (ed.), Democracy, Constitutionalism, and Politics in Africa;Historical Contexts, Developments, and Dilemmas, (2017), Palgrave Macmillan, pp 61-100 (republication).
“An overview of contemporary models of constitutional review in Africa,” in Charles Fombad (ed.), Constitutional adjudication in Africa, Oxford, Oxford University Press (2017), pp. 17-50.
“The Cameroonian Constitutional Council: Faithful servant of an unaccountable system,” in Charles Fombad (ed.), Constitutional adjudication in Africa, Oxford, Oxford University Press (2017), pp. 80-96.
“Constitutional adjudication and constitutional justice in Africa’s uncertain transition: Mapping the way forward,” in Charles Fombad (ed.), Constitutional adjudication in Africa, Oxford, Oxford University Press (2017), pp. 351-370.
Presidential Term Limits through constitutional amendments in Africa: Deconstructing legitimacy,” in Grant Masterson and Melanie Meirotti (eds.), Checks and balances: African constitutions and democracy in the 21st Century, EISA, Johannesburg (2017), pp. 45-58.
“Problematising the issue of constitutional implementation in Africa,” in Charles M. Fombad (ed.), The Implementation of Modern African Constitutions: Challenges and Prospects, Pretoria, PULP (2016), pp.10-24.
“Constitutional Implementation in perspective: Developing a sustainable normative constitutional implementation framework,” in Charles M. Fombad (ed.), The Implementation of Modern African Constitutions: Challenges and Prospects, Pretoria, PULP (2016), pp.218-235.
“The Expansion of Judicial Power in Africa and Democratic Consolidation: Opportunities, Challenges and Future Prospects,” in Muna Ndulo and Mamoudou Gazibo (eds), Growing Democracy in Africa: Elections, Accountable Governance and Political Economy, London, James Currey Publishers (2016), pp. 47-85.