The contention by the Respondents that the Applicant is invoking the
Human Rights jurisdiction is a speculation that cannot stand.
We agree
with the Respondents that as long as the Protocol to operationalize the
extended jurisdiction is not concluded, this Court is not vested with
jurisdiction to entertain Human Rights matters. However, as to whether the
functionality of Article 30(1) of the Treaty is subject to the provisions of
Article 27(2), we are unable to back that misinterpretation.
A reference
under Article 30 of the Treaty is to be construed as an action to challenge
the legality under the Treaty of an activity of a Partner State and/or an
institution of the Community.
A clear reading of the points of disagreement arrived at during the
Scheduling Conference shows that
the Applicant sought this Court to
determine whether or not his arrest, interrogation and detention was an
infringement of Articles 6(d), 7(2) and 104(1) of the Treaty as well as Articles
2(4)(b), 4(5), 5(2)(b), 7(2), 10(3), 11(1) and 12(1) of the Protocol for the
Establishment of the Common Market. The wording of the issues (c) and (d)
agreed upon at the Scheduling Conference and the prayers sought relate to
the interpretation which is the preserve domain of the Court’s jurisdiction
under Article 33(2) of the Treaty.
It is not in dispute that the Court has jurisdiction to interpret each Article of
the Treaty.
The inclusion of allegations of human rights violation in a
reference will never distract this Court from exercising its interpretative
jurisdiction. This has consistently been the finding of the Court in Katabazi
case (supra), Rugumba case (supra), Omar Awadh case (supra) and Prof.
Anyang Nyong’o vs. the Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya,
EACJ Reference No.1 of 2006.
Furthermore, this instant Reference is similar to Mohochi case (supra), in
which the Applicant challenged the violation of Articles 6(d), 7(2) and 104(1)
REFERENCE NO.11 OF 2011
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