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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2024 |
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The Commission found no violation of fair‑trial or equality rights by South African courts regarding self‑represented litigants.
Admissibility — Article 56; exhaustion of local remedies; fair trial and impartiality (Article 7); representation rights of legal practitioners; limitation of legal aid to criminal matters; joinder for costs and summary dismissal of leave to appeal; no discriminatory treatment of self‑represented litigants found.
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6 November 2024 |
| October 2024 |
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Application dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction because respondent had not deposited the Article 34(6) declaration.
Jurisdiction — Personal jurisdiction — Article 34(6) declaration required for individual applications — Preliminary examination under Rules — New application vs earlier decided application.
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16 October 2024 |
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Provisional requests to release a detained opponent and to secure his electoral candidacy were dismissed as raising merits/domestic-fact issues.
Provisional measures — Article 27(2) and Rule 59(1) — requirements of extreme gravity, urgency and irreparable harm — prima facie jurisdiction — distinction between preventive provisional measures and merits remedies — requests to order release and to secure electoral candidacy dismissed as raising merits and domestic-fact issues — prior provisional order on access to lawyers/doctors noted.
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3 October 2024 |
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Court ordered stay of decree empowering the President to dismiss judicial officers pending merits to protect judicial independence.
Judicial independence; separation of powers; provisional measures; stay of implementation of legislation; urgency and irreparable harm; prima facie jurisdiction under Article 27(2) of the Protocol; dismissal of judicial officers by executive decree.
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3 October 2024 |
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Whether the Court should order provisional measures altering candidacy requirements and ISIE composition at the applicant's request against the respondent.
Provisional measures — electoral rights — candidacy requirements (sponsorship and criminal-record/Bulletin No.3) — mootness of publication request — requests raising merits (legality and compliance with human rights instruments) inadmissible at provisional stage — ISIE composition — necessity of extreme gravity, urgency and irreparable harm — prima facie jurisdiction.
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3 October 2024 |
| August 2024 |
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Communication declared inadmissible for failure to exhaust domestic remedies after rescission of a default judgment.
Human rights — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Rescission of default judgment reopens domestic proceedings — Article 56(5) and (6) African Charter — Formal admissibility requirements (Articles 56(1),(2),(3),(4),(7)).
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2 August 2024 |
| June 2024 |
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Admissible in part; undue domestic delays found but no violation of Charter rights established; complaints dismissed.
Human rights — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Undue prolongation of domestic procedures; Civil and political rights — Right to equality and equal protection (Art.3); Prohibition of torture (Art.5) — psychological torture claim requires cogent evidence; Fair trial (Art.7) — delays and bench composition did not establish Charter breach; Political participation (Art.13) — no violation.
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3 June 2024 |
| May 2024 |
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23 May 2024 |
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Blanket exclusion of first‑born daughters from chieftainship violates equality and women's rights under regional law.
Gender discrimination — customary law — male primogeniture in chieftainship — competence to apply Maputo Protocol — exhaustion of local remedies — equality, participation in cultural and political life.
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3 May 2024 |
| March 2024 |
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Commission finds Uganda responsible for torture, arbitrary detention and failure to investigate; local remedies excused due to victim's incapacity.
Human rights — Torture and ill‑treatment; arbitrary and incommunicado detention; right to counsel and habeas corpus; exhaustion of local remedies; State duty to investigate and provide reparations.
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8 March 2024 |
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State’s investigative and protective failures toward a trafficking victim breached the African Charter and Maputo Protocol.
Human trafficking; trafficking for sexual exploitation; State due diligence to prevent, investigate and prosecute private actors; Article 5 (cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment); Articles 2 and 18(3) (non‑discrimination) and Maputo Protocol Articles 2 & 4(2)(g); detention and non‑punishment of trafficking victims; exhaustion of domestic remedies exception; reparations and remedial measures.
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8 March 2024 |
| November 2023 |
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State violated rights to expression, association, assembly and political participation around the 2015 elections; remedies waived due to mass repression.
Elections — civic space — freedom of expression, association and assembly — right to participate (Article 13) — actio popularis — exceptions to exhaustion of local remedies — misuse of anti‑terror and media laws — disproportionate force — State obligation to reform.
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9 November 2023 |
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Respondent State violated multiple Charter rights through forced eviction, ill‑treatment, arbitrary detention, discrimination and obstruction of justice.
Forced eviction and property destruction; State responsibility for torture and ill‑treatment; arbitrary arrest and travel ban; discrimination and denial of equal protection; obstruction of access to justice and fair trial; failure to ensure judicial independence and human‑rights training; admissibility—exception to exhaustion of local remedies.
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9 November 2023 |
| August 2023 |
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Admissible complaint alleging State failure to provide adequate housing; Commission finds no violation of cited African Charter rights.
Human rights — Economic and social rights — Right to adequate housing, dignity and satisfactory environment — Admissibility: exhaustion and timeliness under Article 56 — Margin of appreciation, subsidiarity and progressive realization — State responsibility for municipal actions and private eviction proceedings.
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2 August 2023 |
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Failure to enforce a final judgment for rape and theft violated the State’s obligations to provide an effective remedy and protect rights.
Human rights – Rape by state agent as torture and gender-based discrimination – Non‑enforcement of domestic judgment violates right to fair trial, remedy and property – State obligation under Article 1 to adopt measures for enforcement – Reparations: restitution, compensation with interest, execution of sentence, institutional reforms and compensation fund.
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2 August 2023 |
| May 2023 |
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Forced genital examinations of female protesters constituted torture and discrimination; military justice lacked independence and remedies were inadequate.
Forced genital/"virginity" examinations; sexual violence and rape as torture; gender‑based violence and discrimination; right to dignity and prohibition of torture (Art.5); admissibility — exhaustion and unduly prolonged remedies; independence and impartiality of military justice; jurisdictional limits of military courts; State obligation to investigate, prosecute and provide effective remedies and compensation.
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23 May 2023 |
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Communications declared inadmissible for disparaging language and failure to exhaust domestic remedies within a reasonable time.
Admissibility — Article 56 — disparaging/insulting language (56(3)); exhaustion of local remedies and effectiveness (56(5)); reasonable time/prematurity (56(6)); Vetting Board/Supreme Court findings do not automatically render judicial remedies unavailable.
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23 May 2023 |
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Forced genital examinations and related ill‑treatment in military detention violated multiple African Charter rights; State must prosecute, reform and compensate.
Human rights — Forced genital examinations (virginity testing) — Sexual violence in detention — Torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment — Gender-based discrimination — Independence and impartiality of military justice — Exhaustion of local remedies — State duty to investigate, prosecute and provide reparation.
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23 May 2023 |
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Allegations of arrest, mistreatment and rendition dismissed as inadmissible for failure to exhaust local remedies.
Admissibility — Article 56 requirements — Identity and representation; compatibility with the Charter; non‑disparaging language; non‑exclusive reliance on media; exhaustion of local remedies; undue prolongation and timeliness — Failure to exhaust domestic remedies leads to inadmissibility.
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23 May 2023 |
| March 2023 |
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Commission found arbitrary arrests, fair‑trial and multiple freedoms violated and declared Ethiopia’s Anti‑Terrorism Proclamation incompatible with the African Charter.
Anti‑Terrorism law — vagueness and overbreadth; exhaustion of local remedies — undue delay; arbitrary arrest and detention; fair trial — incommunicado detention, counsel confidentiality and secret/hearsay evidence; violations of freedoms of religion, expression, association and assembly; declaration of incompatibility of national anti‑terror law with African Charter.
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7 March 2023 |
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Communication inadmissible for insulting language and failure to exhaust domestic remedies, thus filed prematurely.
Admissibility — Article 56(1)–(7) African Charter; disparaging/insulting language (Art.56(3)); exhaustion of local remedies and effectiveness (Art.56(5)); reasonable time/prematurity (Art.56(6)); Respondent non-submission does not bar decision.
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7 March 2023 |
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Communications dismissed as inadmissible for disparaging language and failure to exhaust domestic remedies and reasonable-time requirement.
Admissibility — African Charter Article 56(3), (5), (6): disparaging language; exhaustion of domestic remedies; Vetting Board findings do not excuse exhaustion; reasonable time requirement.
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7 March 2023 |
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The Commission found Sudan responsible for widespread human rights violations in South Kordofan and Blue Nile and ordered remedies and investigations.
African Charter – admissibility and exhaustion of local remedies – waiver where remedies unavailable, ineffective or insufficient; mass human rights violations – extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, destruction of property, displacement, denial of access to information; gender-based and ethnic discrimination; peoples’ rights of the Nuba; remedies, investigations and reparations; State default and Commission’s competence to decide on merits.
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7 March 2023 |
| November 2022 |
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Communication alleging extrajudicial killings struck out for failure to submit admissibility observations and prosecute the case.
Procedure – Communications under the African Charter – 2010 Rules of Procedure (Rule 105, Rule 113) – Failure to submit observations on admissibility – Failure to prosecute – Strike out of communication.
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9 November 2022 |
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The respondent violated victims' rights through arbitrary detention, torture, and breaches of fair trial, expression and association.
Human rights law — arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention — torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment — denial of prompt access to counsel and judicial review — restrictions on freedom of expression and association — effectiveness of domestic remedies and immunity of security personnel — admissibility where UN Working Group considered the case.
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9 November 2022 |
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Communication alleging illegal refoulement and unfair trial struck out for lack of diligent prosecution after missed admissibility submissions.
Procedure – Admissibility – Rule 105(1) and Rule 113 – Failure to file observations or to seek extension – Want of diligent prosecution – Strike out of Communication; Refugee law – Alleged illegal refoulement, incommunicado detention and unfair military trial – Provisional measures granted but matter procedurally dismissed.
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9 November 2022 |
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The Commission struck out the Mau Forest eviction communication for want of diligent prosecution due to no admissibility submissions.
Procedure — Strike out for want of diligent prosecution — Failure to file admissibility submissions under Rule 105(1) — No extension sought under Rule 113 — Provisional measures earlier issued — Alleged mass evictions in Mau Forest — Parallel proceedings before African Court noted.
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9 November 2022 |
| August 2022 |
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Commission finds communication on Southern Cameroons inadmissible because its prayers conflicted with AU principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Human rights — Anglophone/Southern Cameroons crisis — Admissibility under Article 56 — identification of authors; compatibility with African Charter and AU Constitutive Act; territorial integrity and sovereignty; exhaustion/unavailability of domestic remedies; provisional measures.
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2 August 2022 |
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Communication partially admissible; Commission finds fair‑trial, expression and health violations and orders reparations and reform.
Admissibility — exhaustion of domestic remedies; Fair trial — prompt information of charges, prompt trial, access to counsel, presumption of innocence, judicial independence; Freedom of expression — overbroad anti‑terrorism law and criminalisation of journalism; Right to health — detention medical care; Remedies — reparations and law reform.
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2 August 2022 |
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Whether the respondent’s failure to provide ESIA and disclosure for a development project violated the applicants' right to development.
Admissibility — exhaustion of domestic remedies — State’s burden to show availability and effectiveness; Indigenous peoples — qualification criteria; Right to self-determination and participation — consultation and free, prior and informed consent for development projects; Right to development — requirement for impact assessment and public disclosure; Environmental rights — threshold for breach; Remedies — ESIA disclosure and reporting obligations.
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2 August 2022 |
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State violated Charter by torture (gang-rape), failing to investigate and denying effective remedies, forcing the victim into exile.
Human rights — Torture and sexual violence in custody — State due diligence to investigate and prosecute — Gender-based violence and discrimination — Obligation to ensure effective remedies and reparations — Admissibility: exhaustion and reasonable time.
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2 August 2022 |
| May 2022 |
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State violated Articles 1, 4, 5 and 7 by torturing detainees, denying fair trial and imposing death sentences after unfair trials.
Human rights — torture and ill‑treatment — prohibition of coerced confessions — fair trial guarantees in anti‑terror proceedings — death penalty after unfair trial — admissibility and exhaustion of local remedies — applicable IHL in non‑international armed conflict (Darfur).
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13 May 2022 |
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Commission finds DRC violated Batwa rights by evicting them without consultation, resettlement or compensation and orders reparations.
African human rights law — admissibility (undue delay / exhaustion of domestic remedies); indigenous peoples — recognition, land, culture and resources; forced eviction and conservation — compatibility with human rights; violations of Articles 1,2,4,8,14,16,17,21,22,24; remedies: restitution, compensation, legislative and administrative measures.
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13 May 2022 |
| March 2022 |
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Communication struck out for want of diligent prosecution due to the applicant's failure to file admissibility submissions.
Human rights communications – Admissibility – Failure to submit admissibility arguments within time – Rule 105(1) and Rule 113 Rules of Procedure – Strike out for want of diligent prosecution – Prior similar jurisprudence.
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9 March 2022 |
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Communication on death‑penalty and clemency procedure struck out for lack of diligent prosecution.
Human rights — Death penalty and clemency procedure — Provisional measures issued — Procedural compliance — Rule 108(1) and Rule 113 — Failure to prosecute — Strike out for want of diligent prosecution.
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9 March 2022 |
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A communication alleging torture and other rights violations was struck out for want of diligent prosecution after missed admissibility deadlines.
Human rights — Communication alleging torture, arbitrary arrest, detention and unlawful surveillance — Admissibility — Failure to submit evidence and arguments under Rule 105(1) — No extension sought under Rule 113 — Strike out for want of diligent prosecution.
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9 March 2022 |
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Whether the Commission should grant a State's request to withdraw an Article 49 communication at the merits stage.
Human rights procedure — Withdrawal of interstate communication under Article 49 — Admissibility and merits stages — Rule 124 Rules of Procedure (2020) — Commission grants withdrawal and closes file.
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9 March 2022 |
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Annulment of the applicant's candidacy without notice or hearing violated rights to a hearing and to participate in government.
Electoral law — Residency requirement — Procedural fairness (audi alteram partem; equality of arms) — Right to stand/participate in government (Article 13(1)) — Admissibility and exhaustion of local remedies — State’s failure to respond to the Commission.
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9 March 2022 |
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Communication alleging arbitrary eviction and service-related rights struck out for want of diligent prosecution.
Procedure – Admissibility – Rule 105(1) two-month submission requirement – Rule 113 extension procedure – Failure to prosecute – Strike out for want of diligent prosecution; Alleged violations of Articles 7 and 12 of the African Charter.
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9 March 2022 |
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The Commission granted the complainant's request to withdraw the communication and declared it closed.
Procedure — Communication withdrawal — Request granted where complainant sought withdrawal after Secretariat proposed striking out for want of diligent prosecution; Commission relies on prior jurisprudence — Communication closed.
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9 March 2022 |
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The respondent failed to protect, investigate or compensate the victim, violating property, fair trial and protection-from-abuse rights.
Admissibility — exhaustion of local remedies — flexible application where domestic remedies unavailable or ineffective; State obligation to protect against non-state actors; parliamentary privileges proceedings as tribunal for Article 7 purposes — fair trial and impartiality; expropriation of land — lawful procedure and adequate compensation; arbitrary arrest and denial of counsel; discrimination on political/racial grounds.
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9 March 2022 |
| December 2021 |
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3 December 2021 |
| October 2021 |
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Prolonged arbitrary detention, torture, and denial of fair trial rights violate multiple articles of the African Charter and require state redress and reform.
Human rights law – prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment – arbitrary detention – fair trial rights and judicial independence – state responsibility for legislative adequacy and effective redress – administrative detention – religious and family life – remedies for victims of prolonged detention and torture – procedural safeguards for detainees.
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20 October 2021 |
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Egypt violated multiple African Charter rights by using excessive force to disperse Sudanese refugees' protest, failing to investigate, and denying remedies.
Human rights – refugees and migrants – excessive use of force – right to life – prohibition of torture and ill-treatment – right to property – right to health – dispersal of peaceful protest – state obligation to investigate – remedy and compensation for violations – assembly and police regulation under African Charter.
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20 October 2021 |
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Restricting absentee voting to citizens abroad in government service does not violate the African Charter's rights to equality, non-discrimination, or participation in government.
Human rights – right to vote – absentee voting – non-resident citizens – discrimination – proportionality of electoral restriction – African Charter interpretation – legitimate limitation – state's margin of discretion in electoral matters – diaspora enfranchisement
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20 October 2021 |
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Application for review of an African Commission merits decision dismissed for lack of standing, proof of settlement, and compelling new facts.
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights – admissibility – legal standing and representation – amicable settlement – requirements for review of merits decision – consent of victim – burden of proof in settlement implementation – review of Commission decisions under Rule 111.
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14 October 2021 |
| July 2021 |
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Disciplinary proceedings chaired by an interested Chief Justice violated the applicant's judicial independence and right to a fair and public hearing.
Judicial independence – Fair hearing – Impartiality of tribunal – Disciplinary proceedings against judges – Public hearing rights – Violation of right to fair trial – Removal of judge for judicial acts – State obligations under African Charter.
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19 July 2021 |
| April 2021 |
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26 April 2021 |
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17 April 2021 |
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Criminal defamation laws imposing imprisonment for criticism of public officials violate the right to freedom of expression under the African Charter.
Freedom of expression – criminal defamation – custodial sentences – necessity and proportionality of restrictions – public officials – Article 9 of the African Charter – right to fair trial – legality and burden of proof – compatibility of national law with international human rights standards.
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16 April 2021 |