133. The Court recalls that, in the instant case, it has found that the Applicants,
who were assisted by two lawyers before domestic courts, cannot hold the
Respondent State liable for the failure to claim their rights to compensation
in the reparation proceedings.
134. Accordingly, the Court dismisses the Applicants’ prayer to order the
Respondent State to pay them the sum of Twenty-Nine Billion Three
Hundred Forty-Nine Million One Hundred Thousand (29,349,100,000) CFA
francs.
iii. Costs in respect of domestic proceedings
135. The Applicants submit that on 23 September 2019, they entered into a fee
agreement with Advocate Benoit Aké’s law firm for the sum of Eighty Million
(80,000,000) CFA Francs in respect of local remedies and pray the Court to
order the Respondent State to reimburse them the said costs.
*
136. The Respondent State prays the Court to dismiss the Applicants’ claim on
the ground that bringing the case before courts without seeking legal aid
meant that they had sufficient financial resources.
***
137. The Court recalls its jurisprudence according to which reimbursement of
costs is part of the concept of reparation such that once the said costs are
stated, it could order the Respondent State to pay compensation to the
victim.25
138. In the instant case, the Court notes that it emerges from the records that on
23 September 2019, a fee payment agreement was signed between the
25
Umuhoza v. Rwanda (reparations), supra, 37.
33