233. In this Communication, the Complainants have approached the Commission alleging
that the Respondent State had violated Articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 16 of the African
Charter. See paragraph 14 above. The prayers sought, for ease of reference, are as set
out in paragraph 15 above, and have been couched in the following fashion:
The Complainants request the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the
Commission) to:
a.
Find the laws, policies and actions challenged above as violating the rights of the Victims
as well as all Ethiopians; and
b.
Draw the attention of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African
Union (AU) to the situation in accordance with Article 58 of the African Charter.
234. However, a perusal of the Complainants' submissions will reveal that the Complainants
have introduced more reliefs in addition to the ones set out in paragraph 233hereof and
the reliefs now sought are couched in the following fashion:
The Complainants hereby request that the Commission:
1.
Declare the Complainants'
Charter;
right under articles 4,5,6,7, 8, 9(1), 9(2), 10 and 16 of the
2.
Declare that Articles 3(6), 5(1)(b) and (d); 23 (1)J2) and (5);25; and32 of the AntiTerrorism Proclamation of Ethiopia of Ethiopia (Proclamation No. 625/2009) are
incompatible 'with the Charter;
3.
Request the respondent to amend the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation of Ethiopia in relation
... " to do a number of listed issues which the Commission deems unnecessary to
reproduce in this Communication. This is on account of the fact those reliefs are
not set out in the Complaint with which the Complainants approached the
Commission.
235. The question that the approach adopted by the Complainants brings to the Commission
is whether the Complainants can use their submissions to enhance the rights or reliefs
sought in the Complaint or Communication filed with the Commission.
236. It should be pointed out that the case for any Complainant against a Respondent State
must be set out in the Communication submitted to the Commission under Article 35
as read with Article 56 of the African Charter. Submissions of the parties under the 2010
ROP (and indeed the 2020 Rules of Procedure) are filed for the parties to present
arguments in support of their respective cases for consideration by the Commission at
admissibility and merit stages of the Communication. Therefore, submissions cannot
and should not be used for purposes of enhancing the rights or reliefs sought in the
Complaint or Communication filed with the Commission. In this regard it must be
noted that the function of a Complaint or Communication is to give fair notice of the
case which has to be met and to define the issues on which the Commission will have
to adjudicate in order to determine the matters in dispute between the parties. Once a
Complaint or Communication has been filed subject to amendment, if necessary, the ~
parties are bound by the Complaint or Communication and the Commissio ~as to take 1
the Complaint or Communication as filed. However, if a Complainant tindeq
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