The Admissibility of Subregional Courts’ Decisions before the African Commission. .. 243 through setting standards.7 Other organs of RECs such as subregional courts can positively contribute to the protection of human rights. Subregional courts are organs of RECs vested with judicial powers. Some of them have decided human rights cases. Although it is advantageous to have as many institutions as possible to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights, overlapping judicial powers of organs raise concerns such as the possibility of divergent conclusions on the same issues, duplication of efforts, and inefficient allocation and use of scarce resources, particularly when different courts have jurisdiction over the same case.8 In Yogogombaye v Senegal, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Court) was confronted with issues that had already been raised before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice.9 Such issues render the discussion on admissibility of cases decided by subregional courts before the African Court relevant. Although such a case has never been presented to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission), it is important to discuss admissibility before it because the African Commission is the main forum through which cases come to the African Court. So far, few countries have made declarations under Article 34(6) of the African Court Protocol and individuals or NGOs can bring cases to the African Court against these states only. Cases against other states should come to the African Court through the African Commission.10 African Sub-Regional Human Rights Documents (Pretoria: Pretoria University Law Press). 7 The supreme organs of the RECs adopt instruments that address human rights issues. 8 See Viljoen (2007), supra note 1, p. 501; Abdul Rahaman Lamin ‘African sub­ regional human rights courts: the ECOWAS Court of Justice, the SADC Tribunal and the EAC Court of Justice in comparative perspective’ in John Akokpari & Daniel Shea Zimbler (eds) (2008), Africa’s Human Rights Architecture (Fanele: Auckland Park), p.239; Kithure Kindiki (2006) ‘The African Human Rights System: Unnecessary Overlap or Useful Synergies?’ East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights Vol. 12, p. 332. 9 Yogogombaye v Senegal (2009) AHRLR 315 (ACtHPR 2009). The case was brought to the African Court to obtain suspension of proceedings instituted by Senegal in order to charge, try and sentence Mr Hissein Habre, former Head of State of Chad who had asylum in Senegal. The African Court declared the case inadmissible on the ground that the applicant lacks standing. See also Hissein Habre v Republic of Senegal, General Role No. ECW/CCJ/APP/07/08 Judgment No: ECW/CCJ/JUD/06/10, ruling delivered on 18 November 2010. The same case was brought before the ECOWAS Court of Justice on 6 October 2008 and was decided on 18 November 2010. 10 See African Commission on Human and Peoples ’ Rights v the Great Socialist Libyan People’s Arab Jamahiriya, Application No. 004/2011, ruling 2 September 2011. The African Court rejected most cases on the ground that the respondent state did not make declaration under art 34(6) of the African Court Protocol. See, for example,