The Protection of the Right to Silence in The Gambia

: Law, Practice, and Reform

Abstract

The right to silence in The Gambia is an unexplored intersection of constitutional law, international human rights law, and criminal procedure. After 22 years of authoritarian dictatorship, The Gambia has been undergoing political transition since 2017. It has seen renewed commitment to liberal politics, and changes in the legal, political, and social contexts of criminal justice and human rights, including a Draft Constitution aiming to improve rights protection. This thesis asks how influences from global, national, and local normative frameworks affect the protection of the right to silence in law and practice; and what implications proposed reform under the 2020 Draft Constitution would have for that protection.
Using doctrinal and empirical analysis, this thesis examines a range of international and domestic legal sources. It evaluates their influence in law and practice, and draws insights from documentary data and qualitative interviews with legal professionals in The Gambia. It argues that the protection of the right to silence is more than merely its constitutional norm. Its protection is also influenced by the protection of other rights, by international human rights law, and the institutional and procedural context in which it is protected. Key elements of this are the attitudes and practices of professionals, particularly where they have discretion within the legal framework, or where their practices disrespect the law. Another key aspect is the changing degrees of cosmopolitanism in constitutional rights protection. The changes under the Draft Constitution would have implications for the scope of the right to silence. It would also open the protection of the right to silence to greater influence from international human rights law, and change the nature of the effect of attitudes and practices of criminal justice professionals.

Date of Award	5 Dec 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Rachel H Murray (Supervisor) & Jennifer Collins (Supervisor)