Reporters sans Frontiers, and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers. 6. They are all represented by Mr. Vital Neston Nshimirimana, Advocate and his address is 6 Avenue de la mission, BP 1745, Bujumbura, Burundi. 7. The Amici Curiae’s roles in the proceedings were limited to the filing of submissions only. B. BACKGROUND 8. It is agreed that the Reference concerns Law No.1/11 of the 4th June, 2013, amending Law No.1/025 of 27th November, 2003 regulating the press in Burundi (“the Press Law”). From the pleadings, the Press Law was adopted by the National Assembly on 3rd April, 2013, passed by the Senate on 19th April, 2013 and signed into effect by the President of the Republic of Burundi on 4th June, 2013. 9. It was the Applicant’s contention that the Press Law as enacted, restricts freedom of the press which is a cornerstone of the principles of democracy, rule of law, accountability, transparency, and good governance. Further, that the Press Law violates the right to freedom of expression and all the restrictions contained in it are in contravention of the Republic of Burundi’s obligations under Articles 6(d), 7(2) of the Treaty. 10. In particular, the Applicant claims that the following Articles of the Press Law allegedly violate the Treaty: Articles 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, which require compulsory accreditation for all journalists in Burundi;  Articles 17, 18 and 19 which lay down a broad set of restrictions of what may be published by the media in Burundi; Reference No. 5 of 2013 Page 3