REPUBLIC OF GAMBIA, Judgment No. ECW/CCJ/JUD/03/08 in LR 20042009, (§15).
120. Also, the Court defined arbitrary detention, as: “any form of
curtailment of individual liberty that occurs without a legitimate or
reasonable ground and is in violation of the conditions set out under the
law.” - See the case BADINI SALFO v. RÉPUBLIQUE DU BURKINA FASO,
Judgment ECW/CCJ/JUD/13/12 - and referred in the case DAME
HADJITOU MANI KORAOU v. RÉPUBLIQUE DU NÍGER, Judgment
ECW/CCJ/JUD/06/08 the Court ruled that: “une détention est dite arbitraire
lorqu'elle ne repose sur aucune base légale.” (§91)
121. The notion of arbitrariness also covers deprivation of liberty contrary
to the standards of reasonableness, i.e. whether it is “just, necessary,
proportionate and equitable as opposed to unjust, absurd and arbitrary”.
(See African Commission, Communication No. 458/1991, in the case
MUKONG v. CAMEROON and the Human Rights Committee in General
Comment No. 35 §12).
122. The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR), in its
judgment in the case ONYACHI AND NJOKA v. TANZANIA (Application
No. 003/2015 of 28 September 2017) highlighted the three criteria
established by international human rights jurisprudence to determine
whether or not a deprivation of liberty is arbitrary, as being the following:
“(...) the lawfulness of the deprivation, the existence of clear and reasonable
grounds
and
the
availability
of
procedural
safeguards
against
arbitrariness.”, having concluded that: “These are cumulative conditions
and non-compliance with one makes the deprivation of liberty arbitrary.”
123. As set out in the “Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair
trial and Legal Assistance in Africa” adopted by the African Commission:
“States must ensure that no one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest or
detention, and that arrest, detention or imprisonment shall only be carried
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