A regional court that was created initially to make judgments on African Union states' compliance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. It came into being on January 25, 2004 with the ratification by fifteen member states of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights Establishing the AfCHPR. On July 1, 2008, at the African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, the court merged with the African Court of Justice following a decision by member states at a June 2004 African Union Summit. The court is now known as the African Court of Justice and Human Rights.