G0>4046 ~ 279. Article 26 of the Charter stipulates that: "The State Parties to the present Charter shall have the duty to guarantee the independence of the Courts and shall allow the establishment and improvement of appropriate national institutions entrusted with the promotion and protection of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the present Charter" . 280. The Court notes that guaranteeing the independence of the Courts imposes on States, not only the duty to enshrine this independence in their legislation but also, the obligation to refrain from any interference in the affairs of the judiciary at all levels of the judicial process. 281. In the instant case, the Court has already noted that the remarks made by senior officers of the executive in this case of international drug trafficking were such that would influence the investigation procedure as well as the opinion of the Judge. This was particularly the case when , on 2 October 2018 , while the proceedings initiated against the Applicant before CRIET were in progress, the Minister of Justice publicly declared that "in regard to the Ajavon case, CRIET has jurisdiction to hearthe matter". In terms of content, the statement of the Minister does not amount to a general statement on the competence of CRIET; it is rather an affirmation on the competence of CRIET in connection with a specific case pending before it. The fact that the Minister further stated that sovereign judges would have the opportunity to interpret the law does not detract from the affirmative nature of his comments on the jurisdiction of CRIET. Accordingly, the Court finds that the executive interfered with the functions of the judge, the only authority empowered to pronounce on its own jurisdiction. 282. The Court holds in conclusion that by declaring that CRIET has the jurisdiction to hear a specific case brought before it, the Minister of Justice, member of the executive , interfered in the judge's functions in violation of Article 26 of the Charter. VIII. REPARATIONS 283. The Applicant alleges that the purported drug trafficking case caused him a series of damages estimated at five hundred and fifty billion (550 ,000,000,000) I ~~