ii. Find that the preliminary objections raised by the Respondent State are well founded; iii. Declare the Application inadmissible. 20. On the merits, the Respondent State prays the Court to dismiss the Application as unfounded. V. JURISDICTION 21. The Court notes that Article 3 of the Protocol provides as follows: 1. The jurisdiction of the Court shall extend to all cases and disputes submitted to it concerning the interpretation and application of the Charter, the Protocol, and any other relevant Human Rights instruments ratified by the States concerned. 2. In the event of dispute as to whether the Court has jurisdiction, the Court shall decide. 22. Rule 49(1) of the Rules provides that “the Court shall conduct a preliminary examination of its jurisdiction … in accordance with the Charter, the Protocol and the […] Rules ".2 23. Based on the above-mentioned provisions, the Court must, in each Application, conduct a preliminary examination of its jurisdiction and rule on objections thereto, if any. 24. The Court notes that the Respondent State does not raise any objection to its material jurisdiction. 25. Having noted that nothing on the record shows that it does not have jurisdiction, the Court finds that it has: 2 Rule 39(1) of the Rules of Court, 2 June 2010. 6