(2017) 1 African Human Rights Yearbook 169 Their powers usually include the right to interpret the regional integration rules and solve disputes arising therefrom. In addition, some courts are entrusted with quasi-constitutional competences, for instance, upholding principles of democracy and rule of law and resolving conflicts between the various branches of State power. Contrary to Europe, where there has been a relatively clear distinction between regional integration courts and regional human rights protection courts, in other continents although there are specialised regional human rights courts, other courts also deal with human rights or more widely with the protection of the rights of individuals, either as explicitly included in the court’s competence or derived from interpretation of general principles. Nevertheless, one common feature in all these schemes is how decisions of the courts can be and are enforced against member states. This question is less well developed than substantive rights although it is a major one and there is a danger that failure to enforce decisions leads to an erosion of the respect for the regional courts. The objective of this analysis is to highlight how regional systems of political and judicial oversight, especially in weak or fragile democratic systems, can be a useful addition to national judicial or other mechanisms of protection of human rights and rule of law and control of the executive. The article analyses if and how decisions of regional courts can have a real impact, even in the absence of effective regional enforcement systems. We examine the various courts in Africa and in the Americas to draw conclusions through a comparative analysis as to the validity of the article’s hypothesis: Is it possible to use regionalisation of human rights to enhance their protection and promote rule of law at national level? And if yes, how can enforcement of decisions of courts of regional integration organisations be ensured and enhanced? 1 2 2.1 REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND COURTS OF JUSTICE Europe This article will not go into any detail on the European regional courts. However, as both the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court on Human Rights have served as models for many regional courts, some salient European issues will be briefly touched upon as a background. The matter of enforcement is interesting in this context, as even these far-reaching regional integration systems with powerful courts lack designated enforcement mechanisms. Responsibility for enforcing decisions by both the Court of Justice of 1 Reflections in this article are based on interviews by the authors at the mentioned courts in Africa and the Americas, during study visits in February 2015 (the Americas) and February - April 2016 (Africa), supported by a travel grant from the Folke Bernadotte Academy as part of the latter’s Rule of Law programme.