000399 criminal complaint was aimed at ensuring that the violation of the rights guaranteed by the Respondent State are recognised. 30. The Applicants submit that filing of a civil suit before the investigating judge would require a decision from the Prosecutor General. Accordingly, in the absence of such a decision, the process could not proceed and they were obliged to wait for a response, which has been pending for five (5) years. 31.As regards continuation of the proceedings before the Labour Court, the Applicants submit that the fact of bringing a civil action does not preclude criminal proceedings. 32. The Applicants allege that the time between the filing of the criminal complaint and the date of referral of the case to the Court attest to the undue delay in processing appeals. This renders inapplicable the requirement of exhaustion of local remedies set out in Rule 40(5) of the Rules and Article 56(5) of the Charter. 33.The issue to be addressed is whether there is a remedy in the Respondent State's judicial system which the Applicants ought to have pursued to address the delay of the Prosecutor General's decision over their complaint. 34.1n this regard, the Court recalls that in the matter of Diakitd Couple v. Republic of Malia, il held that under Article 625 of the Mali Code of Criminal Procedure, "the petitioners had at least the opportunity to appeal directly to the investigating judge by filing a civil suit." 35. The Court found in that case that referral to the investigating judge was an effective and satisfactory remedy under Article 90 of the Mali Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides that '"l-he investigating judge shall, in accordance with the law , take all such 4 Application No. 009/2016. Judgment ot 281912017 (Admissibility), Diakite Couple (hereinafter referred lo as Diakite Couple v. Mali (Admissibility),), g. a5. 5 Anyone who claims to be wronged by a crime or an offense may, by filing a complain before the competent investigating judge." v. 10 r1\{ *[2 Republic of Mali ring a civil action "