44. The Court notes that the issue for determination is whether the time taken
by the Applicant to seize the Court is reasonable within the meaning of
Article 56(6) of the Charter read together with Rule 50(2)(f) of the Rules.
45. Pursuant to Article 56(6) of the Charter, as restated in Rule 50(2)(f) of the
Rules, an application must be “submitted within a reasonable time from the
date local remedies were exhausted or from the date set by the Court as
being the commencement of the time-limit within which it shall be seized
with the matter.” These provisions do not set a time-limit within which the
Court must be seized.
46. In connection with the first ground of the objection, namely, the application
for review was never filed and served on the Respondent State, the Court
notes that there is a contradiction in the Respondent State’s position since
on the one hand, it contests the filing and service of the application for
review and, on the other hand, it acknowledges that the application was
filed, albeit out of time.
47. On 7 October and 12 November 2022 and 25 January 2023 the Court
requested the Applicant to file documents indicating that the Court of Appeal
granted him leave to file his application for review out of time and that the
said application was filed and served on the Respondent State. The
Applicant failed to do so. In view of these circumstances, the Court finds
that the Applicant’s claim that the application for review was pending at the
time the Application was filed before this Court has not been proven.
48. The Court notes, regarding the second ground of the objection, that, in any
event, compliance with time limits regarding domestic proceedings is
irrelevant to assessing reasonableness of time for filing Applications before
this Court. The Court finds, therefore, that the Respondent State’s argument
that the Applicant ought to have filed the notice of motion for review of the
Court of Appeal’s judgment on his appeal within sixty (60) days is immaterial
to the determination of the reasonableness of time taken to file the
Application before this Court.
14