The Court of Justice of the African Union was originally intended to be the "principal judicial organ" of the African Union (Protocol of the Court of Justice of the African Union, Article 2.2) with authority to rule on disputes over interpretation of AU treaties.
[1] A protocol to set up the Court of Justice was adopted in 2003, and entered into force in 2009.
It was, however, superseded by a protocol creating the African Court of Justice and Human Rights.
The merger protocol was adopted during the 11th African Union Summit in July 2008.
The united court will be based in Arusha, Tanzania.