Results.
58 judgments found.
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| December 2022 |
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Election-related measures moot; Executive Council not amenable to provisional measures; detention-suspension request rejected.
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Human rights — Provisional measures — Prima facie jurisdiction to entertain requests under the Protocol
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Provisional measures — Mootness — Election-related requests rendered moot by occurrence of contested event
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International procedure — Non-parties/Organs — Executive Council not amenable to provisional measures as it is not a party to the Protocol
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21 December 2022 |
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Applicant failed to show urgency and a direct link to justify suspending the parliamentary elections.
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Human rights
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— Jurisdiction — Prima facie jurisdiction to order provisional measures under the Protocol and Article 34(6) Declaration — African Charter
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— Provisional measures — Suspension of elections — Requirement of extreme gravity, urgency, irreparable harm and a direct connection between alleged violations and the measures sought — Protocol art.27(2)
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16 December 2022 |
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Court dismissed applicant's requests to suspend elections, annul results, and compel the President's medical examination.
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Human rights — Provisional measures
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— Stay of national parliamentary elections — Requirement of prima facie jurisdiction, urgency, gravity and demonstrable risk of irreparable harm
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— Measures affecting future acts and electoral results — Court should not prejudge the merits by annulling prospective parliamentary acts
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— Medical examination of Head of State — Intrusive measures require evidentiary foundation
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16 December 2022 |
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Application dismissed as inadmissible for failure to exhaust newly available domestic remedies.
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Human rights — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Availability and effectiveness of domestic remedies after legislative amendment
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Labour law — Enforcement of arbitral awards in collective disputes — Judicial review and enforcement procedure provided by amendment to Labour Code (Law No. 021-2017)
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1 December 2022 |
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Application alleging unlawful pre-trial detention and separation-of-powers violations dismissed for failure to exhaust local remedies.
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Human rights — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Article 56 African Charter — Application premature
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Criminal procedure — Pre-trial detention — Power of public prosecutor to issue detention order — Separation of prosecutorial and judicial functions
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1 December 2022 |
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Application for review dismissed as inadmissible for lack of newly discovered decisive facts; Court retained jurisdiction.
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Human rights
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— Review of judgment — New facts or evidence requirement — Rule 78(1) of the Rules — Finality of judgments
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— Jurisdiction — Effect of withdrawal of Article 34(6) declaration — Protection of pending cases and review applications
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— Admissibility — Time‑limits for review applications — Six‑month and five‑year thresholds
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1 December 2022 |
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Applicant's challenges to identification evidence and alleged discriminatory assessment failed to establish violations of Articles 7 and 2.
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Human rights
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— Fair trial — Evaluation of identification evidence — Article 7(1) African Charter
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— Non‑discrimination — Assessment of evidence — Article 2 African Charter
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Procedure — Admissibility — Reasonable time to file given incarceration and limited awareness of Court
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1 December 2022 |
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Application alleging fair-trial violations dismissed as inadmissible for unreasonable delay despite Court’s jurisdiction.
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Human rights — Fair trial — Admissibility — Reasonable time to seize the Court after exhaustion of domestic remedies
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Jurisdiction — Material and temporal — Court may examine domestic proceedings for compliance with Charter standards without acting as an appellate court
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Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Ordinary remedies to the highest domestic court suffice; extraordinary review not mandatory
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1 December 2022 |
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Mandatory death penalty violates the right to life; undue delays and death‑row detention breach fair trial and prohibition of degrading treatment.
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Human rights — Right to life — Mandatory death penalty — Removal of judicial discretion — African Charter Article 4
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Criminal procedure — Fair trial — Right to be tried within reasonable time — Undue pre-trial delay — African Charter Article 7(1)(d)
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Human rights — Prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment — Death‑row phenomenon and prolonged pre‑trial detention — African Charter Article 5
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1 December 2022 |
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Admissibility of challenge to exclusion of pregnant schoolgirls where ACERWC already decided similar claims.
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Human rights
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— Admissibility — Application settled by prior ACERWC decision — Article 56(7) African Charter
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— Education & non-discrimination — Exclusion of pregnant and parenting schoolgirls — Overlap of ACERWC findings and African Court jurisdiction
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1 December 2022 |
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Mandatory death penalty and hanging violate the applicant’s rights; unreasonable pre-trial delay found.
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Human rights — Death penalty — Mandatory death sentence — Arbitrary deprivation of the right to life (Article 4)Human rights — Right to dignity — Execution by hanging and prolonged detention on death row — Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (Article 5)Human rights — Fair trial — Unreasonable pre-trial delay — Violation of right to be tried within a reasonable time (Article 7(1)(d))
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1 December 2022 |
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Executive control of the High Judicial Council breached judicial independence; Penal provision unduly restricted criticism of courts; State failed to execute Court rulings.
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Human rights
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— Judicial independence — Composition and appointment procedures of judicial council — Excessive executive control violates Article 26 of the African Charter
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— Freedom of expression — Criminal restriction on criticism of judicial decisions — Limiting technical comments to specialised journals unlawful under Article 9(2) of the Charter and Article 19 ICCPR
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Procedural law — Compliance with Court judgments — State’s non-execution of Court rulings — Breach of Article 30 of the Protocol
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1 December 2022 |
| September 2022 |
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An application contesting a conviction in absentia was dismissed as inadmissible for failure to exhaust domestic cassation remedies.
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Human rights — Jurisdiction — Individual access under Article 34(6) Declaration — Court's material, personal, temporal and territorial jurisdiction
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Procedure — Default judgment — Rule 63(1) — Conditions for entering judgment in default (service, default, Court's motion)
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Human rights — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Pendency of cassation appeal does not necessarily amount to undue prolongation
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22 September 2022 |
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Court found 2021 presidential decrees violated right to be heard and political participation; ordered repeal and Constitutional Court operationalisation.
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Human rights
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— Jurisdiction — Competence of the African Court over domestic constitutional measures — State consent through Protocol and Article 34(6) Declaration
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— Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Remedy unavailable where Constitutional Court exists only in law and is not operational
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Constitutional law — Political rights — Suspension of parliamentary powers and presidential decrees — Right to be heard and to participate in public affairs — Proportionality and procedural compliance
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22 September 2022 |
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Application dismissed as inadmissible for failure to exhaust the available cassation remedy.
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Human rights
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— Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Availability and effectiveness of cassation remedy — African Charter Art.56(5) and Rule 50(2)(e)
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— Jurisdiction — Individual access under Article 34(6) declaration — Material, personal, temporal and territorial jurisdiction
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22 September 2022 |
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Application alleging fair-trial violations dismissed for failure to exhaust the cassation remedy; Court affirmed jurisdiction.
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Human rights
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— Fair trial — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies: requirement to lodge cassation appeal before international application
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— Jurisdiction — Material jurisdiction — Court’s competence to entertain applications alleging Charter violations notwithstanding requests implicating pardon, commutation or parole
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22 September 2022 |
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Applicant’s claims inadmissible for undue delay in filing after exhaustion of domestic remedies.
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Human rights — Fair trial and equality — Right to legal representation and having one’s cause heard — Admissibility considerations
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Civil procedure — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies and reasonable time to file — Article 56(5)-(6) African Charter
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22 September 2022 |
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Failure to inform of bail and to provide free legal aid breached fair trial rights; TZS 600,000 awarded for moral prejudice.
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Human rights — Fair trial guarantees — Right to be informed of right to bail; Right to free legal assistance for indigent accused of serious offences; Admissibility — reasonable time to file after exhaustion of domestic remedies; Jurisdiction to review compliance of domestic criminal proceedings with Charter standards; Juvenile status and trial venue; Reparations — moral damages awarded, material damages and indirect victims' claims dismissed.
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22 September 2022 |
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Court found violations for obstruction of monitoring, lack of authentication on some collation sheets, and failure to provide candidate protection.
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Human rights — Elections — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies and use of disparaging language
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Constitutional law — Judicial independence — Composition and appointment — Appearance of bias versus evidentiary proof
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Elections law — Transparency and credibility — Authentication of collation sheets (hologram/sticker) — ECOWAS Democracy Protocol Article 6
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22 September 2022 |
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Court asserted jurisdiction but dismissed the application for failure to exhaust local remedies; each party bears its own costs.
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Human rights
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— Jurisdiction — Material jurisdiction to assess compliance of domestic proceedings with the African Charter despite not being an appellate court
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— Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Failure to pursue available domestic judicial remedies renders application inadmissible
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22 September 2022 |
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Application declared inadmissible for being filed outside a reasonable time despite exhausted domestic appeals.
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Human rights — Admissibility
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— Filing within a reasonable time — Article 56(6) African Charter and Rule 50(2)(f) of the Rules — Delay without compelling justification renders application inadmissible
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— Exhaustion of local remedies — Appeals to High Court and Court of Appeal suffice; extraordinary remedies not required
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Human rights — Jurisdiction — Temporal and personal jurisdiction — Declaration under Article 34(6) and non-retroactivity; withdrawal does not affect pending cases
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22 September 2022 |
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Alleged fair‑trial procedural errors (conviction/sentencing, child evidence, exhibits, witnesses) were not established and were dismissed.
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Human rights — Fair trial — Right to have one’s cause heard — Alleged procedural errors relating to conviction, sentencing and witnesses — Assessment of domestic courts' findings and admissibility of child evidence
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Evidence — Admissibility — Child witness unsworn evidence under statutory provision — Court’s recorded opinion and corroboration
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Human rights — Remedies — Jurisdiction and admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies and reasonable time filing
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22 September 2022 |
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Application dismissed as inadmissible for being filed outside a reasonable time after domestic remedies were exhausted.
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Human rights — Admissibility — Reasonable time to seize the Court — Article 56(6) African Charter — Six‑year delay unjustified
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Procedure — Default — State’s failure to respond — Ruling in default suo motu under Rules of Court (Rule 63)
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Jurisdiction — Effect of withdrawal of Article 34(6) Declaration — No retroactive effect on pending applications
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22 September 2022 |
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Whether African States breached obligations to protect Sahrawi self-determination by facilitating Morocco’s AU admission.
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African human-rights jurisdiction; admissibility (identity, media-sourced evidence, exhaustion, reasonable time); actio popularis standing; extraterritorial scope of self-determination (erga omnes); limits on Court’s power to interpret AU Constitutive Act; AU Assembly admission decisions not automatically imputable to Member States; no State responsibility without attribution and causation.
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22 September 2022 |
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Whether the applicant's retrenchment and domestic litigation breached his rights to work, fair trial, and equality.
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Human rights
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— Right to work — Retrenchment and employment status following corporatisation of public services — Article 15 African Charter
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— Fair trial — Impartiality, reasonable time and assessment of evidence in domestic proceedings — Article 7 African Charter
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— Equality and non‑discrimination — Differential statutory treatment of commissioners and staff after institutional transfer — Articles 3 and 2 African Charter
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22 September 2022 |
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Application inadmissible for failure to exhaust cassation remedy; Court retains jurisdiction to assess conformity with human rights instruments.
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Human rights — Jurisdiction — Review of domestic criminal proceedings for compliance with the African Charter and other ratified instruments
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Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Effectiveness of cassation and assessment of undue delay
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22 September 2022 |
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Application dismissed as inadmissible for failure to exhaust available domestic appeal remedies.
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Human rights — Property rights — Applicability of Article 14 of the African Charter — Ownership dispute before domestic courts
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Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Availability, effectiveness and satisfactory nature of civil appeal under domestic law
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Procedure — Notification and adversarial judgment — Effect of legal representation and notice on appeal periods
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22 September 2022 |
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Application dismissed as inadmissible for failure to exhaust available domestic remedies before filing.
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Human rights
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— Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Applicants must exhaust available, effective domestic remedies before filing — Principle of anteriority (assessment at filing date)
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— Jurisdiction — Personal, material, temporal and territorial jurisdiction — Court satisfied it had jurisdiction to entertain the matter
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22 September 2022 |
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Application inadmissible for failure to prove exhaustion of cassation appeal; Court nonetheless confirms jurisdiction.
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Human rights — Right of access to court and trial within reasonable time — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies; proof of cassation appeal required — African Charter Article 7(1)(a),(d) and Article 56
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22 September 2022 |
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Application struck out after the applicant discontinued proceedings; applicant may seek restoration under Rule 65(3).
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Human rights
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— Admissibility/Procedural — Discontinuance of application — Court’s power to strike out under Rule 65(1)
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— Remedies — Restoration of struck-out application — Right under Rule 65(3)
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International procedure — State withdrawal of Article 34(6) Declaration — No effect on pending applications filed before withdrawal’s entry into force
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22 September 2022 |
| August 2022 |
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Court orders State to secure applicant's medical care and supply his hospital medical file; other relief dismissed.
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Human rights
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— Provisional measures — Prima facie jurisdiction despite withdrawal of Article 34(6) declaration
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— Right to health — Urgency and irreparable harm for access to medical treatment and medical records
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Procedure — Evidence and disclosure — Limits on ordering production of domestic investigative documents as provisional relief
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15 August 2022 |
| July 2022 |
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Applicants granted leave to amend pleadings under Rule 47; amended application due within 30 days.
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Procedure — Amendment of pleadings — Leave to amend under Rule 47 — Application filed before close of pleadings; interest of justice
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28 July 2022 |
| June 2022 |
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Application struck out for failure to pursue proceedings and comply with Court requests, without prejudice to re-filing.
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Procedure — Failure to prosecute — Rule 65(1)(b) — Strike out for lack of diligence — Multiple notices and extensions ignored — Proofs of delivery — Strike out without prejudice to re-filing under Rule 65(3); judicial recusal of national judge under Article 22 and Rule 9(2).
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23 June 2022 |
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Applicant's failure to prosecute led to strike-out under Rule 65 for non-compliance with Court directions.
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Human rights — Admissibility/Procedure — Failure to prosecute — Strike out under Rule 65(1)(b) of the Rules of Court
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Procedure — Court composition/recusal — Judge who is a national of the Respondent State did not hear the Application — Article 22 of the Protocol
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23 June 2022 |
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Court ordered collective land restitution, KES compensation, recognition, FPIC and a community development fund for the Ogiek.
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Human rights
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— Indigenous peoples — Reparations for communal land dispossession — Delimitation, demarcation and collective titling
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— Remedies — Pecuniary and non-pecuniary reparations — Equitable monetary awards and community development fund
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— Participation — Effective consultation, free prior and informed consent and guarantees of non-repetition
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23 June 2022 |
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Court will decide provisional measures together with the merits in challenge to decree replacing the Supreme Judicial Council.
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Human rights
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— Constitutional governance — Challenge to decree establishing Provisional Supreme Judicial Council — Alleged violation of self‑determination and political participation
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— Judicial independence and separation of powers — Alleged executive intrusion through Decree‑Law No.11/2022
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Civil procedure — Provisional measures — Whether interim relief should be decided separately or together with the merits when measures duplicate merits relief
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23 June 2022 |
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Application dismissed for failure to exhaust local remedies; Court may assess domestic judgments for Charter compliance.
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Human rights
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— Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Timing and effectiveness
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— Jurisdiction — Review of domestic judicial acts for Charter compliance, not appellate function
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— Judicial independence — Post‑filing allegations and presumption of impartiality
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23 June 2022 |
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State's failure to provide trial records violated fair trial rights; Court awarded material and moral reparations.
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Human rights — Fair trial — Failure to provide certified trial records — Right to appeal and Article 7(1)(a)
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Reparations — Pecuniary and non‑pecuniary — Assessment of material and moral damages — Flexible evidential approach where documentation is inaccessible
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Procedure — Default judgment — Rule 63(1) — Effect of State's failure to respond after due notification
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23 June 2022 |
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Applicant awarded compensation for continuing denial of remedy after historic property confiscation and tribunal closure.
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Human rights
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— Property and remedies — State failure to restitute or compensate for historic confiscation — Continuing violation and temporal jurisdiction
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— Fair trial — Ouster of ordinary courts and non-extension of compensatory tribunal — Violation of right to have one’s cause heard
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Remedies — Reparations — Assessment of material and moral damages — Inflation considerations and equity-based award
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23 June 2022 |
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Application struck out for failure to prosecute despite extensions; restoration may be sought under Rule 65(3).
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Procedure — Striking out for failure to prosecute — Application of Rule 65(1) of the Rules of Court — Duty of diligence by parties
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Human rights — Death penalty proceedings — Provisional measures to stay execution — Interim reporting obligation
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23 June 2022 |
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Court found no discrimination: decree eligibility dates and hierarchical authorisation for police promotion lawful.
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Human rights — Equality and non‑discrimination — Alleged discriminatory exclusion from police training and promotion — Application of decree eligibility dates and burden of proof
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Administrative law — Judicial precedent — Permissibility of jurisprudential evolution and reversal by the Supreme Court in interpreting promotion rules
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Economic and social rights — Public service, education and promotion — Law requiring prior hierarchical authorisation for training and promotion — Compatibility with Articles 13(2) Charter, 25(c) ICCPR, 13(2)(c) and 7(c) ICESCR
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23 June 2022 |
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Court allowed applicant to amend pleadings and deferred decision on oral hearing pending respondent’s response.
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Procedure
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— Amendment of pleadings — Leave to amend after close of pleadings — Court may grant on exceptional basis where reasons satisfy Rule 47(2) and interests of justice warrant
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— Oral proceedings — Request premature before respondent served with amended pleadings — Decision deferred until both parties’ written submissions considered
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Human rights — Death penalty and fair trial — Complexity of issues can justify amendment and submission of further evidence
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23 June 2022 |
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Court exercised its discretion to reopen pleadings, deemed the respondent’s response filed, and granted the applicant 45 days to reply.
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Procedural law
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— Court procedure — Reopening pleadings — Discretion under Rule 46(3) of the Rules of Court
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— Pleadings — Applicant’s right to reply — Rule 44(2) (45-day Reply period)
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— Inherent powers — Court’s power to adopt procedures in the interests of justice — Rule 90
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7 June 2022 |
| May 2022 |
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Court reopened pleadings under Rule 46(3) and Rule 90, granting 45 days to reply to late new submissions.
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Civil procedure — Reopening of pleadings — Discretion under Rule 46(3) — Inherent power under Rule 90 — 45‑day period to reply to new submissions
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Jurisdiction — Effect of withdrawal of Article 34(6) declaration — Withdrawal does not affect pending applications filed before one‑year effective date
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13 May 2022 |
| April 2022 |
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Proceedings reopened because the State plausibly did not receive initial service; Respondent given time to file response and reparations submissions.
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Civil procedure — Reopening pleadings — Service of process and interest of justice — Rule 46(3) of the Rules of Court
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Property law — Expropriation and compensation — Enforcement of domestic compensation judgement — Right to reparations
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1 April 2022 |
| March 2022 |
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Court dismissed provisional measures over election-day internet shutdown for lack of demonstrated urgency and irreparable harm.
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Human rights — Freedom of expression — Internet shutdown during elections — Provisional measures: requirement of extreme gravity, urgency and irreparable harm
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Procedure — Jurisdiction — Prima facie jurisdiction preserved where application filed before effective date of withdrawal of Article 34(6) Declaration
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24 March 2022 |
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Court ordered simultaneous determination of provisional measures and merits in challenge to presidential decrees abrogating the Constitution.
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Human rights — Provisional measures — Simultaneous determination of provisional measures and merits — Article 27 of the Protocol
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Constitutional law — Unconstitutional change of government — Alleged abrogation of the Constitution by presidential decrees — Individual access to Court under Article 34(6)
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24 March 2022 |
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Application struck out for failure to prosecute and inability to locate the applicant, without prejudice to restoration under Rule 65(3).
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Procedure — Rule 65(1) Rules of Court — Striking out for failure to prosecute — Applicant’s inability to be located and counsel’s inability to obtain power of attorney — Respondent’s failure to file response — Strike out without prejudice to restoration under Rule 65(3).; Human rights — death penalty commuted to life imprisonment — allegations of violations (Articles 3,4,5,7,19,26 of the African Charter) raised but not substantively determined due to procedural strike out.
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24 March 2022 |
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Court found violations of trial timeliness, adversarial rights, judicial independence, and electoral-body independence.
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Human rights — Fair trial — Right to be tried within a reasonable time and adversarial principle — Article 7(1) African Charter; Article 14 ICCPR
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Constitutional law — Judicial independence — Appointment and renewal of Constitutional Court members — Need for objective renewal criteria and recusal procedure — Article 26 African Charter
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Election law — Electoral management bodies — Overlapping competencies of INEC, DGE and MAT undermine independence — Article 17(1) ACDEG; Article 3 ECOWAS Protocol
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24 March 2022 |
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Application struck out for failure to pursue proceedings and comply with Court directions, without prejudice to restoration.
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Procedure
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— Striking out — Failure to prosecute and non-compliance with Court directions — Rule 65(1)
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— Restoration — Right to seek restoration after striking out — Rule 65(3)
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Human rights — Jurisdiction — Withdrawal of Article 34(6) Declaration — No effect on pending applications filed before withdrawal took effect
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24 March 2022 |