The establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights was a pivotal moment for the African human rights system. To date, 30 of the African Union’s 55 member states have accepted the Court’s jurisdiction by ratifying the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. This article uses statistical analysis of state action on the Protocol to shed light upon the factors that have led some states to accept the Court’s jurisdiction and other states to thus far decline to do so. The results provide strong support for accounts of the origins of international human rights regimes that emphasize transitional states’ desire to “lock in” new commitments to democracy and human rights. Potential compliance costs, regimes’ ideological orientations, domestic legal traditions, and regional dynamics have also exerted significant effects upon the likelihood of ratification.

中文翻译：

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锁定非洲的人权：分析国家加入非洲人权和人民权利法院

非洲人权和人民权利法院的成立是非洲人权体系的关键时刻。迄今为止，非洲联盟 55 个成员国中有 30 个国家批准了《非洲人权和人民权利宪章关于设立非洲人权和人民权利法院的议定书》，从而接受了法院的管辖权。本文使用对国家对议定书行动的统计分析来阐明导致一些国家接受法院管辖权而其他国家迄今为止拒绝接受的因素。结果为强调过渡国家希望“锁定”对民主和人权的新承诺的国际人权制度起源的解释提供了强有力的支持。潜在的合规成本、政权的意识形态取向、