vi. That the Applicant continue to serve his sentence; vii. That the Application be dismissed in its entirety; and viii. That all the reliefs sought by the Applicant be denied. V. JURISDICTION 14. The Court recalls that Article 3 of the Protocol provides as follows: 1. The jurisdiction of the Court shall extend to all cases and disputes submitted to it concerning the interpretation and application of the Charter, this Protocol and any other relevant human rights instruments ratified by the States concerned. 2. In the event of a dispute as to whether the Court has jurisdiction, the Court shall decide. 15. The Court further recalls that pursuant to Rule 49(1) of the Rules, it “shall preliminarily ascertain its jurisdiction … in accordance with the Charter, the Protocol and these Rules.”5 16. On the basis of the above-cited provisions, the Court must, in every Application, preliminarily ascertain its jurisdiction and rule on objections thereto, if any. 17. In the instant Application, the Court observes that the Respondent State raises an objection challenging the Court’s material jurisdiction. The Court will thus, preliminarily, address the said objections before considering other aspects of jurisdiction, if necessary. 5 Rule 39(1), Rules of Court, 2 June 2010. 6