Beginning with an account of Namibia's struggle for self-determination that serves to put the Namibian Constitution in context, this volume moves on to consider the principal features of the Constitution, the organs of state and the fundamental principles that provide the framework for the effective functioning of a democratic State. It goes on to examine the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and freedoms protected by the Declaration of Rights, analyzing the relevant jurisprudence of the Namibian courts in the light of international human rights law.

A critical analysis, from a legal perspective, of the principal issues with which the Organization for African Unity has been concerned since its establishment in 1963, this second edition is an extensive revision of the volume published in 1989. It takes into account the significant developments and dramatic changes throughout Africa in the 1990s, and the progress made across various fronts, such as the end of apartheid in South Africa, the independence of Namibia and Eritrea, the establishment of the African Economic Community in 1991, and the OAU Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. There is a new chapter on environmental law. The chapter on economic law has been rewritten to focus on the African Economic Community, and the chapter on human rights has been extensively expanded.