case, all that the Appellant needed to prove was the date the Applicant became aware
of the action. The Appellant had raised a preliminary objection to the effect that the
Reference was time barred. The Applicant argued that he did not know the date his
client had been arrested and detained; and the Respondent failed to prove that the
Applicant knew that date. We held that, in that case, the first limb of Article 30 (2) could
not apply; and stated that:
“In our view, it was not possible with any degree of certainty to determine
when time begun to run. The pleadings do not tell us. Furthermore, the
affidavits of the subject’s sister and wife are merely hearsay in that they
only depone that “they were told” of the detention. …… the onus was on
the Appellant to establish the time at which the detainee or his family
members or his lawyers were told or otherwise made aware of the
detention of Lt. Col. Ngabo. The Appellant failed to discharge that burden.
He cannot turn around to impeach the Respondent for any failure to file
the Reference within the two (2) months prescribed under Article 30 (2) of
the Treaty.”
46. In deciding that case as we did, this Court could not pinpoint the date on which the
Applicant had knowledge of the time Rugumba was arrested. The Appellant himself
was not able to provide the Court with any clear and tangible evidence of when the
Applicant, or Rugumba’ s family members became aware of Lt. Col. Ngabo’s detention
as a starting point for computing the time limit of Article 30 (2).
47. However, we note that in the instant case, the Appellant based his argument on the
principle of legal certainty. The principle is reflected in this Court’s recent decision in the
Independent Medico case (supra), in which the Court stood firm and clear on the
principle of legal certainty; and gave the following interpretation of Article 30 (2):
“Again, no such intention [to extend the time limit] can be ascertained from the
ordinary and plain meaning of the said Article [30 (2)] or any other provision
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