Charter and other regional and international human rights instruments, where such
violations are perpetrated by State parties to the Protocol.
36. He further avers that the violations he has suffered are human rights violations
which relate to the manner in which the judicial investigations were conducted,
notably: the right to liberty, the right to own property, the presumption of innocence
and the right to a fair trial, rights enshrined under Articles 6,7, and 14 of the Charter
to which Benin is a party.
37. The Applicant lastly contends that the Court has jurisdiction to hear cases of
violation raised by him because it is not the nature of the damage that determines
the Court 's jurisdiction but rather the nature of the rights violated.
38. Regarding the reference made to the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and
of the Citizen of 26 August 1789, the Applicant avers that it does not diminish the
value of his Application in terms of human rights violation disputes even though the
instrument is not ratified by the Respondent State. This Declaration, according to
him, is the founding text in the recognition of human rights in the world and
constitutes, to date, a reference document and source of inspiration for all human
rights protection instruments.
***
39. The Court notes that the objection to its material jurisdiction raised by the
Respondent State hinges on two arguments: on the one hand, whether or not it
has jurisdiction to adjudicate human rights violations which may lead to reparation
of damages of commercial and political nature; and, on the other, whether or not
jurisdiction is established where the alleged violations are based on an instrument
which does bind the Respondent State.
I