African Court on Human and Peoples Rights

476 judgments
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Results. 476 judgments found.

476 judgments
May 2019
Court ordered provisional stay of execution pending adjudication due to risk of irreparable harm to Charter rights.
  • Human rights — Death penalty — Provisional measures — Stay of execution to prevent irreparable harm — Protocol Art 27(2) and Rules of Court, Rule 51
  • Jurisdiction — Prima facie jurisdiction — Individual access under Protocol and declaration — African Charter articles invoked (3(2), 4, 7(1)(c))
17 May 2019
March 2019
Special‑court retrial after an unnotified appeal violated fair‑trial guarantees, non bis in idem, judicial independence, and property rights.
  • Human Rights — Fair trial
    • — Competence of special courts and non bis in idem — Retrial after an unnotified appeal violated Article 7(1)(a) of the African Charter and Article 14(7) ICCPR
    • — Right to defence, notification of charges, access to case file and right to counsel — Violations by CRIET
  • Human Rights — Judicial independence — Executive interference by Ministerial statements — Violation of Article 26 of the African Charter
29 March 2019
Failure to appeal prosecutorial inaction to the investigating judge rendered the human-rights application inadmissible.
  • Human rights
    • — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Availability of appeal to the investigating judge
    • — Right to health — Allegations of occupational poisoning and State responsibility
  • Procedure — Access to Court — Legal capacity of informal groups under Article 34(6) Declaration
28 March 2019
Failure to provide free legal aid in a serious criminal prosecution violated the applicant’s right to a fair trial.
  • Human rights
    • — Fair trial — Right to legal assistance/free legal aid — Obligation to provide free counsel where accused is indigent, charged with serious offence and interest of justice so requires
    • — Evidentiary assessment — Visual and voice identification — Domestic courts’ wide margin in evaluating identification; corroboration and circumstances to exclude mistaken identity
  • Procedure — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies and reasonable time — Pursuit of extraordinary review and detention-related constraints may render delay reasonable
28 March 2019
Application challenging mandatory death sentence held inadmissible because the HRC had already decided the same issues.
  • Human rights — Death penalty — Mandatory death sentence — Whether automatic imposition breaches rights to life and prohibition of inhuman treatment
  • Procedure — Admissibility — Prior international decision — Whether HRC Views settle a matter under Article 56(7) of the African Charter
  • Jurisdiction — African Court — Jurisdictional scope — Material, personal, temporal and territorial jurisdiction affirmed
28 March 2019
Whether the African Court may review domestic appellate evidence assessment and whether local extraordinary remedies must be exhausted.
  • Human rights
    • — Fair trial — Assessment of domestic courts’ evaluation of evidence — Whether review by the African Court amounts to appellate jurisdiction
    • — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Whether extraordinary remedies (review or constitutional petition) are required before seizing the African Court
    • — Right to defence — Right to counsel and effective defence — Standards for finding violation
28 March 2019
Arrest and degrading anal search violated the Applicant's rights to residence, dignity, integrity and reasonable time to trial.
  • Human rights
    • — Freedom of movement and residence — Arbitrary arrest and deportation — Article 12(1) of the African Charter
    • — Dignity and physical integrity — Forced anal/cavity search in detention — Degrading treatment and prohibition of ill‑treatment (Articles 5 and 4)
    • — Fair trial — Right to be tried within a reasonable time — Article 7(1)(d) of the African Charter
28 March 2019
The Court ordered a stay of execution of a death sentence pending its determination of alleged trial irregularities and rights violations.
  • International human rights — African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights — Provisional measures — Stay of execution of the death sentence pending determination of human rights application — Prima facie jurisdiction — Risk of irreparable harm.
20 March 2019
February 2019
Applicant granted leave to amend application and submit further evidence before court issues judgment.
  • African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights — procedure — application for amendment — leave to file further evidence — request for oral proceedings — deferral of judgment for further submissions.
13 February 2019
Applicant granted leave to amend application, adduce additional evidence and file reparations submissions within fifteen days.
  • Human rights
    • — Procedure — Amendment of application and adducing additional evidence under Rule 50
    • — Reparations — Permission to file reparation submissions — Time limit for filing
13 February 2019
The applicant was granted leave to amend his application and file further evidence before the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.
  • African Court procedure — application for leave to amend application and file further evidence — admissibility of new evidence — procedure—public hearing reserved.
13 February 2019
January 2019
The Court reopened proceedings, permitting applicants to amend their application and provide new evidence before final judgment.
  • African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights — Procedural law — amendment of pleadings — submission of further evidence — joinder of applications — reparations — reopening of proceedings.
31 January 2019
December 2018
Court ordered stay of execution of special-court conviction pending African Court decision due to risk of irreparable harm.
  • Human rights — Provisional measures — Stay of execution of national court judgment pending African Court decision — Protocol art. 27(2) and Rule 51
  • Criminal procedure — Special courts and retrial — Risk to fair trial and non bis in idem where domestic appeal/execution rules may permit enforcement pending cassation
7 December 2018
Court orders stay of domestic criminal conviction to prevent irreparable harm pending determination of alleged human rights violations.
  • Human rights — Provisional measures — Prima facie jurisdiction — Enforcement of domestic criminal judgment — Risk of irreparable harm — Stay of execution — Right to a fair trial — Double jeopardy — Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
7 December 2018
Court found violations for undue trial delay and deprivation of food; awarded limited monetary compensation.
  • Human Rights — Jurisdiction and admissibility — State responsibility, exhaustion of local remedies and reasonable time — African Court jurisdiction
  • Criminal law / Fair trial — Right to a fair trial — Trial within reasonable time — State delay in prosecution attributable to authorities — Article 7(1)(d) African Charter
  • Human Rights — Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment — Detention conditions — Deprivation of food as violation of Article 5 of the African Charter
7 December 2018
State's failure to provide trial records violated the right to appeal; Court ordered records produced and applicant released.
  • Human rights
    • — Right to appeal — State obligation to provide trial records and facilitate appeals — Article 7(1)(a) African Charter
    • — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Remedies deemed ineffective where State prevents access to necessary documents
    • — Reparations — Release as appropriate remedy where prolonged deprivation of appeal causes a miscarriage of justice
7 December 2018
Court awards monetary compensation for fair-trial and free-expression violations, dismissing expungement and unproven claims.
  • Human rights
    • — Fair trial — Procedural irregularities affecting the right of defence — Article 7(1)(c) African Charter
    • — Freedom of expression — Protection under Article 9(2) African Charter and Article 19 ICCPR — Remedies and reparations
  • Remedies — Reparations — Compensation, restitution and rehabilitation — Burden of proof and evidentiary requirements
7 December 2018
Court found no fair‑trial or equality violations despite claims of mistaken identity and procedural isolation.
  • Human rights
    • — Fair trial — Visual identification and assessment of evidence — Court may review compliance with human rights standards without acting as appellate court
    • — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies and reasonable time — Extraordinary review not required; delay assessed case‑by‑case
    • — Remedies and costs — No violation found; reparations denied; each party bears own costs
7 December 2018
Court exercised inherent power to reopen deliberations and admit new evidence linked to the original application.
  • Human Rights
    • — Court procedure — Reopening of proceedings and admissibility of new evidence after deliberation — Inherent power to set aside deliberation in interest of justice
    • — Continuity of facts — Subsequent developments linked to original application justify reopening pleadings
5 December 2018
September 2018
The failure to provide free legal aid to an indigent defendant in a serious criminal case violated his right to defence under the African Charter.
  • Human rights — Fair trial
    • — Right to defence/legal aid — State obligation to provide free legal assistance where indigent and interests of justice require — African Charter Article 7(1)(c)
    • — Right to be heard — African Court may assess conformity of domestic proceedings with Charter standards but is not an appellate court
  • Human rights — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies and reasonable time — Case‑by‑case assessment; extraordinary constitutional remedies not always required
21 September 2018
Failure to provide free legal aid in a serious criminal case violated the applicant's right to defence.
  • Human rights — Fair trial — Right to legal aid — Obligation to provide free assistance when interests of justice require
  • Criminal procedure — Pre-trial detention/bail — Statutory bar to bail for armed robbery — Legitimate and proportionate restriction
  • Admissibility — Exhaustion and reasonable time — Incarceration, indigence and lack of awareness justify flexibility
21 September 2018
Court found fair‑trial breaches (no legal aid, no defence witnesses, insufficient evidence) and ordered a retrial within specified timelines.
  • Human rights — Fair trial
    • — Right to defence and legal aid — State obligation to provide free legal assistance where interests of justice require
    • — Defence witnesses — Duty of domestic courts to take proactive steps to secure attendance and explain decisions
  • Human rights — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies and reasonable time — Constitutional petition not always required; timeliness assessed case‑by‑case
21 September 2018
May 2018
The Court found Mali’s Family Code violated regional instruments on minimum marriage age, consent to marriage, inheritance and harmful cultural practices.
  • Human rights
    • — Women’s rights — Minimum age of marriage — State obligation to set 18 years under Maputo Protocol Article 6(b)
    • — Family law — Consent to marriage — Requirement for free and full consent and procedural safeguards for religious marriages — Maputo Protocol Article 6(a); CEDAW Article 16
    • — Inheritance and non-discrimination — Default to religious/customary law disadvantaging women and children born out of wedlock — Maputo Protocol Article 21; Children’s Charter Articles 3 and 4
11 May 2018
Application dismissed as inadmissible for failure to exhaust domestic remedies; Rule 67 objection rejected.
  • Human rights — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Requirement to pursue available remedies to the highest domestic level — African Charter Article 56(5)
  • Civil procedure — Review/Reopening of proceedings — Distinct new application versus judicial review — Rule 67 of the Rules inapplicable to a separate subsequent filing
11 May 2018
Court affirmed jurisdiction and admissibility but dismissed claims of violation of equality and health rights.
  • Human rights — Jurisdiction — Capacity of the African Court to assess compliance of domestic proceedings with Charter standards without acting as an appellate court
  • Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Appeals to highest national court sufficient; constitutional petition an extraordinary remedy not required to be exhausted
  • Human rights — Equality and health rights — Allegations that domestic appellate court’s failure to consider grounds violated Article 3(1) and Article 16 — Insufficient substantiation
11 May 2018
Court finds failure to provide free counsel and delayed disclosure of witness statements violated Article 7(1)(c) of the Charter.
  • Human rights — Fair trial
    • — Right to legal assistance — Obligation to provide free counsel in serious criminal proceedings — Article 7(1)(c) African Charter
    • — Disclosure of evidence — Duty to furnish prosecution witness statements promptly — Equality of arms
  • Jurisdiction — Material jurisdiction — Review of domestic proceedings for Charter compliance without acting as appellate court
11 May 2018
Failure to provide free legal assistance in serious criminal proceedings violated the Charter and the State’s Article 1 obligations.
  • Human rights
    • — Jurisdiction — Court may review national proceedings for compliance with Charter standards despite not being an appellate court
    • — Fair trial — Right to defence/legal assistance — State obligation to provide free counsel in serious criminal proceedings for indigent accused
    • — Admissibility — Exhaustion of ordinary local remedies and filing within reasonable time assessed case‑by‑case
11 May 2018
March 2018
Failure to disclose prosecution witness statements and refusal to facilitate an impotence test violated applicants' right to a fair trial.
  • Human rights
    • — Fair trial — Disclosure of prosecution witness statements and opportunity to cross‑examine — Article 7(1)(c) African Charter
    • — Jurisdiction — Review of domestic criminal proceedings for conformity with the African Charter (not appellate review) — Article 3(1) Protocol
  • Remedies — Reparations and costs — Presidential pardon does not extinguish non‑monetary and compensation claims; Court may defer reparation determination
23 March 2018
Court held that arbitrary deprivation of nationality and expulsion without judicial remedy violated regional and international human rights law.
  • Nationality — arbitrary deprivation — right to nationality — statelessness — expulsion — procedural fairness — judicial remedy — international human rights law — exhaustion of local remedies — right to be heard
22 March 2018
Application declared inadmissible because the dispute had been previously settled by the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
  • Human rights
    • — Admissibility — Prior settlement by regional court (ECOWAS) — Article 56(7) African Charter
    • — Fair trial; Equality before the law; Effective remedy — Allegations against national courts — Cognizability subject to admissibility
  • Procedure — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies and reasonable time-period under Article 56(5)-(6) and Rule 40
22 March 2018
Failure to provide free legal aid to an indigent accused in a serious criminal case violated the right to defence under Article 7(1)(c) of the African Charter.
  • Human rights
    • — Fair trial — Right to legal aid — State obligation to provide free legal assistance to indigent accused in serious cases — Article 7(1)(c) African Charter
    • — Criminal procedure — Visual identification — Need to eliminate possibilities of mistaken identity and corroborate identification evidence
  • Procedure — Jurisdiction and admissibility — African Court may review whether domestic proceedings complied with Charter standards without acting as an appellate court
21 March 2018
Failure to exhaust domestic criminal and civil remedies, including seeking reclassification and producing medical evidence, rendered the application inadmissible.
  • Human rights — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Undue delay exception
  • Criminal procedure — Classification of offences — Availability and effectiveness of re‑classification remedy
  • Civil procedure — Remedies for compensation — Requirement to pursue domestic civil action before international adjudication
21 March 2018
January 2018
The Court ordered amendment of the application’s title to reflect the alleged victim as the applicant for greater clarity.
  • Civil procedure — application title — substitution of applicant’s representative by the alleged victim — power of court to amend case title — effect on parties' rights.
17 January 2018
November 2017
Conviction for statements breached freedom of expression and trial rights were compromised by defence procedural irregularities.
  • Human rights
    • — Fair trial — Right to defence — Procedural irregularities, interference with witnesses and inability to examine evidence — violation of Article 7(1)(c) of the African Charter
    • — Freedom of expression — Criminalisation of genocide minimisation and political criticism — necessity and proportionality of restrictions under Article 9(2) of the African Charter and Article 19 ICCPR
  • International procedure — Jurisdiction and admissibility — Effect of withdrawal of Article 34(6) declaration; exhaustion of local remedies where domestic review is discretionary
24 November 2017
Court ordered stay of attachment and sale of applicant’s property pending determination of human-rights application.
  • Human rights — Provisional measures — Stay of execution of domestic judgment to prevent irreparable harm — Article 27(2) Protocol; Rule 51 Rules
  • Jurisdiction — Prima facie jurisdiction for interim relief — Article 3(1) Protocol; Article 34(6) declaration
  • Civil procedure / Remedies — Preservation of status quo — Reporting obligation to Court within specified period
24 November 2017
September 2017
Court held "all appropriate measures" may include release and measures to erase effects of fair‑trial violations.
  • Human rights — Remedies and reparations — Interpretation of "all appropriate measures" — Includes release and measures to erase effects of fair-trial violations — Protocol Art. 27(1)
  • Procedure — Interpretation of judgments — Admissibility of requests under Rule 66 — Purpose to facilitate execution and twelve-month time limit
  • Criminal procedure — Remedying unfair-trial violations — Reopening trial not mandatory where relief would be unjust or impractical
28 September 2017
The applicant's request for implementation guidance was inadmissible for seeking advice rather than interpretation.
  • Human rights — Interpretation of judgments — Admissibility and procedure — Article 28(4) Protocol; Rule 66 Rules of Court
  • Election law — Independent Electoral Commission — Request for implementation guidance vs. interpretation — Court will not provide advisory design guidance
  • Procedural law — Interpretation requests — Must identify operative provision(s) and aim to facilitate implementation
28 September 2017
Applicants’ failure to bring a civil action before an investigating judge rendered their application inadmissible for non-exhaustion of domestic remedies.
  • Human rights — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Civil action before an investigating judge as available and effective remedy
  • Criminal procedure — Investigating judge — Powers to undertake investigations and remedy appeals — Mali Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 62, 90, 112
28 September 2017
Court ordered a stay of execution pending determination, finding extreme gravity, urgency and risk of irreparable harm.
  • Human rights
    • — Provisional measures — Stay of execution pending adjudication — Extreme gravity, urgency and risk of irreparable harm (Article 27(2) Protocol; Rule 51 Rules)
    • — Jurisdiction — Prima facie competence to entertain individual communications — Declaration under Article 34(6) of the Protocol
28 September 2017
Failure to provide free legal assistance violated the applicant's fair trial rights under the African Charter.
  • Human Rights
    • — Fair trial — Right to legal assistance — State obligation to provide free legal assistance suo motu in serious criminal proceedings — African Charter Art.7(1)(c)
    • — Jurisdiction and admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies and reasonable time — Extraordinary remedies in Tanzanian law not required before international filing
  • Criminal Law — Sentencing — Challenge to retroactive application of harsher sentence dismissed where higher minimum had been in force since 1994
28 September 2017
Court ordered provisional measures securing detainee's access to counsel, family contact, and medical care pending merits.
  • Human rights
    • — Provisional measures — Criteria of extreme gravity, urgency and risk of irreparable harm — Article 27(2) Protocol
    • — Jurisdiction — Effect of withdrawal of Article 34(6) declaration — Temporal application and prima facie jurisdiction
    • — Rights of detained persons — Access to counsel, family contact, and medical care — Articles 7, 18, 5, 4 and 9 of the African Charter
28 September 2017
Application dismissed for failure to prove exhaustion of local remedies as required by Rule 34.
  • Human rights
    • — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies — Proof required under Rule 34(4) of the Rules of Court
    • — Procedure — Non‑compliance with procedural admissibility requirements — Dismissal and striking off for failure to demonstrate exhaustion of domestic remedies
28 September 2017
Arbitrary re-arrest and lack of legal aid rendered the applicants' trial unfair; Court orders remedial measures.
  • Human rights
    • — Fair trial — Identification parade procedural safeguards — Admissibility of identification evidence and effect on fairness of trial
    • — Right to legal assistance — Obligation to provide free legal aid on appeal where applicants are indigent and interests of justice warrant it
    • — Liberty — Arbitrary re-arrest after acquittal — Prohibition of re‑arrest on same facts without reasonable grounds
28 September 2017
Whether "all necessary measures" requires release or retrial and whether retrial is expressly prohibited by the Court.
  • Human rights — Remedies — Scope of "all necessary measures" as reparation to erase effects — Protocol Art.27(1)
  • Civil procedure — Interpretation of judgment — Admissibility of interpretation applications filed late — Rule 66(1)
  • Criminal procedure — Reopening and retrial — Meaning of "precluding" and prohibition of retrial
28 September 2017
May 2017
Whether eviction and non-recognition of an indigenous community violated Charter rights to land, culture, religion, development and non‑discrimination.
  • Human rights
    • — Indigenous peoples — Recognition of indigenous status and rights to ancestral land, culture and natural resources — African Charter Articles 14, 21, 22
    • — Non-discrimination — Failure to recognise indigenous/tribal status as discriminatory conduct — African Charter Article 2
  • Procedure — Admissibility — Exhaustion of local remedies and Commission referral to Court — Rule 40(5), Article 5(1)(a) Protocol
26 May 2017
March 2017
Request to suspend a referendum on presidential term‑limit amendment dismissed as overtaken by events.
  • Human rights — Interim measures — Request to suspend referendum amending presidential term limits — Mootness/overtaken by events — Protocol art.27(2); Rule 51
  • Constitutional law — Presidential term limits — Alleged prohibition on amendments extending terms — Charter on Democracy art.23(5)
24 March 2017
November 2016
18 November 2016
The Court ordered provisional measures to prevent a death penalty execution pending determination of an alleged fair trial violation.
  • International human rights law — right to fair trial — provisional measures — death penalty — risk of irreparable harm — jurisdiction of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights — preservation of status quo pending determination of main application.
18 November 2016
The Court ordered a stay of execution for a death row applicant pending determination of alleged rights violations.
  • Human rights — death penalty — provisional measures — irreparable harm — right to fair trial — delay in review application — African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights — jurisdiction of the African Court — preservation of status quo pending determination.
18 November 2016
The Court ordered a stay of execution for death row applicants, finding a risk of irreparable harm pending determination of their case.
  • Death penalty — provisional measures — irreparable harm — jurisdiction of the African Court — human rights protection — right to life — extreme gravity — preservation of status quo pending determination of merits.
18 November 2016