ii)
Be made whilst the same matter has been instituted before another
international Court for adjudication.
This Court has repeatedly stated that the pendency of a case before a Domestic Court
does not oust its jurisdiction to entertain a matter. As long as the matter is not before
another International Court, this Court has the competence to entertain same.
In Valentine Ayika V. Republic Of Liberia (2011) CCJELR, pg. 237, para 13, the
Court held that the Supreme Court of Liberia and for that matter any other Court in
Member States does not qualify as international court within the meaning of Article
10 (d)(ii) of the Protocol as amended.
ON WHETHER THE PLAINTIFFS HAVE DISCLOSED A REASONABLE
CAUSE OF ACTION
The Defendant further contends that the Plaintiffs have not disclosed any reasonable
cause of action.
A cause of action is a set of facts sufficient to justify a right to sue. It must contain a
clear and concise statement of the material facts upon which the pleader relies for
his claim with sufficient particularity to enable the opposite party to reply thereto.
The term “cause of action” was defined in McKenzie v Farmers’ Co-operative Meat
Industries Ltd 1922 AD 16 at 23 as “…"every fact which would be necessary for the
plaintiff to prove, if traversed, in order to support his right to the judgment of the
Court. It does not comprise every piece of evidence which is necessary to prove each
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