As earlier noted, the application of the local remedy rule can be expressly
or impliedly excluded by a treaty and this appears to be what the 2005
Supplementary Protocol conferring human rights jurisdiction on the Court
appears to have done. Accordingly, not having made provisions for particular
conditions in respect of admissibility of an application, the Court cannot impose
heavier ones these of. It is therefore unnecessary to over flog this issue of nonrequirement of exhaustion as a condition precedent to claim for human rights
violations brought before this Court.
From the arguments and contents of the statement of defense and legal
arguments filed by the 2nd , 4th and 5th Defendants, it appears that the Court is
being invited to over- rule itself on its position on the non- requirement of the
exhaustion of local remedies. We are of the opinion that there is no cogent and
convincing reason or circumstances adduced by the defendants to warrant
such a course of action.
In the same vein, the question on whether the pendency of the appeal
against the Plaintiffs conviction is a bar to the present application is answered
in the negative. The limits to this Court’s jurisdiction in an action against a
member State for human rights violation are as contained in Article 10(d) above
and as elucidated by the jurisprudence of this Court in the various cases cited
above. These provisions are clear, lucid and unambiguous and cannot admit
of any extraneous consideration. This Court has clearly stated that the
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