Communications have been instituted by non-nationals of the State against which the Communication is instituted. 66. Accordingly, the African Commission holds that the Institute can appear before it in respect of the present Communication under its much espoused actio popularis principle. Joinder of Parties 67. Joinder of parties is a legal term which refers to the act if uniting as parties to an action all persons who have the same rights or against whom rights are claimed, as either co-plaintiffs or co-defendants.7 Joinder of parties therefore allows multiple plaintiffs or defendants to join in an action if each of their claims arises from the same transaction or occurrence, or are of a similar nature or if there is a common question of law or fact relating all their claims. 68. Notably, neither the African Charter nor the Rules of Procedure of the Commission makes provisions on the joinder of parties before the Commission. The closest to this is Rule 114(2) which provides that the Commission, may, if it deems it good, jointly consider two or more Communications. Consequently, it is the prerogative of the Commission, from the facts presented, to join Communications, and the same would apply to the joinder of parties. 69. The IHRDA has applied to join the present Communication as coauthors, and indeed, as shown above, there is no jurisprudential or legal bar that precludes them from joining as co-authors. Indeed, if the African Commission were to deny the Complainant access to its Communications procedure, there is the possibility of the alleged victims, on whose behalf this Communication has been brought to continue to suffer the alleged violations of their fundamental rights; especially as the first Complainant has refused to proceed with the Communication, even though he has not formally communicated this decision to the Commission. Such denial of access to the Institute would indeed be contrary to the spirit of the Charter which mandates the African Commission to “ensure the protection of human and peoples‟ rights in Africa. 70. More specifically, in respect of the Respondent State‟s argument that there is no author to the present Communication, the Commission notes that even if the original Complainant has formally withdrawn from the present Communication, as the ultimate protector of human rights on the African continent, the Commission may still proceed to 7 See generally, Black‟s Law Dictionary, 6th Ed. p. 836-837. 12