Spotlight On - Judges’ Off-Bench Activities

Published on 7.4.25

The Zambian Supreme Court

Judges’ Off-Bench Activities: Evidence and Theory on Judicial Politics from Africa (Off-Bench)

In December 2025, Gabrielle Lynch will take up a five-year European Research Council Advanced Grant for a project on “Judges’ Off-Bench Activities”. Rather than focusing on judicial rulings (the mainstay of academic study) Off-Bench will undertake the first systematic study of what judges do outside of their courtrooms as part of their official duties and public engagements.

The project will investigate what off-bench activities reveal about how judges understand their role in a democratic society and the impact of these activities on judicial rulings, public support for the courts, and judicial independence and the democratic space. Off-Bench focuses on contemporary Africa as a most likely case for off-bench significance and to build theory from the Global South.

To facilitate the complex mix of qualitative and quantitative research required to map and then analyse judges’ off-bench activities the project will undertake extensive research in two countries. Kenya and Zambia are selected as most similar cases that display different levels of off-bench activism and judicial independence. To test theory developed and evaluate the broader applicability of findings the project will then conduct additional research in five ancillary cases – Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda – selected for their different historical trajectories, off-bench activities, and common and civil law traditions. Gabrielle will be partnering with Tinenenji Banda from the Southern African Institute for Policy and Research in Zambia, Elena Gadjanova from the University of Exeter in the UK, and Duncan Okello from South Consulting in Kenya. The project will also recruit two post-doctoral fellows and a project manager.

Gabrielle has also set up the African Judiciaries Research Network (AJRN) to connect researchers working on African judiciaries from around the world, encourage comparative analysis and lesson learning, and facilitate collaboration. The AJRN has a monthly newsletter and organises workshops and conference panels, and currently has over 160 members.