Declaration on 21 November 2019. The Court has held that such withdrawal
does not apply retroactively. Therefore, it has no bearing on matters
pending before the Court prior to the filing of the instrument withdrawing the
Declaration or new cases filed before the withdrawal took effect, being a
period of one (1) year after the deposit of the notice of withdrawal, that is,
on 22 November 2020. The instant Application having been filed on 22
January 2016, that is, before the Respondent State withdrew its Declaration,
it is not affected by such withdrawal and thus, the Court has personal
jurisdiction.
31. Concerning its temporal jurisdiction, the Court notes that the alleged
violations are based on the District Court’s judgment of 9 May 2008 and the
High Court’s and the Court of Appeal’s judgment of 27 September 2010 and
12 March 2013, respectively. The Court notes that all the three (3) decisions
of the domestic courts were delivered after the Respondent State had
ratified the Charter and the Protocol. Furthermore, the Applicant remains
incarcerated, serving a thirty (30) year sentence that he claims resulted from
an unfair trial.9 In essence, the alleged violations are continuing, thus
conferring the Court with temporal jurisdiction to scrutinize such claims.10
32. As regards its territorial jurisdiction, the Court holds that it has territorial
jurisdiction, as the alleged violations occurred in the territory of the
Respondent State.
33. In the light of the foregoing, the Court holds that it has jurisdiction to examine
this Application.
9
Tanganyika Law Society and Legal and Human Rights Centre v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits)
(14 June 2013) 1 AfCLR 34, § 84; African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v. Republic of
Kenya (merits) (26 May 2017) 2 AfCLR 9, § 65; Ivan v. Tanzania (merits and reparations), supra, § 29
(ii).
10 Norbert Zongo and Others v. Burkina Faso (preliminary objections) (21 June 2013) 1 AfCLR 197, §
68; and Igola Iguna v. United Republic of Tanzania, ACtHPR, Application No. 020/2017, Judgment of 1
December 2022, § 18.
9