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The Centre for Governance and Democracy at QMUL and AJRN are organising an informal workshop on Wednesday 26 February 2025 at 10am-4pm (UK time) at Queen Mary University of London, Mile End, E1 4NS (and online).

Political attacks on judges have long been a feature of politics in sub-Saharan Africa. In recent years, however, they have become prominent in even more seemingly consolidated democracies with powerful and assertive judiciaries, such as Kenya and South Africa. The main aim of this workshop is not simply to criticise politicians for making these attacks. Instead, it aims to 1) understand why these attacks have surfaced when and where they have, and 2) to ask how judges might therefore best prevent and respond to them. Our answers to the second question will be enriched by listening to experiences from across the continent, where the (in)formal norms governing how judges should engage in public debate have differed enormously between jurisdictions.