12. For its part, the Respondent State prays the Court to: On procedure: i. Primarily, declare that it lacks jurisdiction; ii. In the alternative, declare the Application inadmissible. On the merits, in the alternative, : iii. V. Dismiss the Application for lack of violation of the Applicants’ rights. JURISDICTION 13. The Court notes that Article 3 of the Protocol provides: 1. The jurisdiction of the Court shall extend to all cases and disputes submitted to it concerning the interpretation and application of the Charter, this Protocol, and any other relevant human rights instrument ratified by the States concerned. 2. ln the event of a dispute as to whether the Court has jurisdiction, the Court shall decide. 14. Under Rule 49(1) of the Rules of Court “The Court shall ascertain its jurisdiction [...] in accordance with the Charter, the Protocol and these Rules”. 15. Based on the above-cited provisions, the Court, in every application, must conduct a preliminary assessment of its jurisdiction and dispose of objections thereto, if any. 16. The Court notes that the Respondent State raises an objection to its material jurisdiction on the ground that the Application infringes its national sovereignty. The Court will rule on this objection before deciding on the other jurisdictional requirements. 5