22. Rule 50(2) of the Rules, which reproduces in substance the provisions of
Article 56 of the Charter, reads as follows:
Applications lodged with the Court must satisfy the following
conditions:
a.
The identity of the applicant must be stated, even if the
applicant asks the Court to remain anonymous;
b.
Be compatible with the Constitutive Act of the African Union and
the Charter;
c.
Not be written in terms that are outrageous or insulting to the
State concerned, its institutions or the African Union;
d.
Not be limited exclusively to news broadcast by the mass
media;
e.
Be subsequent to the exhaustion of domestic remedies, if any,
unless it is clear to the Court that the proceedings in respect of
such remedies are being unduly prolonged;
f.
Be lodged within a reasonable time after the exhaustion of local
remedies or after the date specified by the Court as the date on
which the time limit for bringing the case before it begins to run;
g.
Not concern matters which have been settled by the States
concerned, in accordance with the principles of the Charter of
the United Nations, the Constitutive Act of the African Union or
the provisions of the Charter.
23. The Court notes that the Respondent State raises two (2) objections to the
admissibility of the Application, one based on non-exhaustion of local
remedies and the other on failure to file the Application within a reasonable
time. The Court will consider the said objections before examining other
conditions of admissibility, if necessary.
A. Objection based on non-exhaustion of local remedies
24. Citing the decision of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’
Rights (hereinafter referred to as “the Commission”) in the joined cases of
Free Legal Assistance Group and others v. Zaire, the Respondent State
8