i.
Dismiss the Applicant’s prayer for reparations in its entirety with
costs;
ii.
V.
Grant any other relief(s) the Court may deem fit to grant.
JURISDICTION
16. 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
instrument ratified by the States concerned.
2.
In the event of a dispute as to whether the Court has jurisdiction,
the Court shall decide.
17. Pursuant to Rule 49(1) of the Rules, the Court “shall conduct a preliminary
examination of its jurisdiction […] in accordance with the Charter, the
Protocol and these Rules.”5
18. In view of the foregoing, the Court must conduct an assessment of its
jurisdiction and dispose of objections thereto, if any.
19. In the present Application, the Court notes that the Respondent State raises
one objection to its material jurisdiction. The Court will first examine this
objection before considering other aspects of its jurisdiction, if necessary.
A. Objection to material jurisdiction
20. The Respondent State claims that this Court is not vested with appellate
jurisdiction to “acquit the Applicant from prison.” The Respondent State
further argues that the Applicant has not adduced any violation of human
rights which he alleged to be occasioned to him. Instead, he only mentioned
5
Rule 39(1), Rules of Court, 2 June 2010.
6