with Alticl e
29. The Repu blic of SenegaJ expre ssed the view that 'in accor dance
nized by the
32 of the Child ren's Chart er, the Comm ittee is an organ izatio n recog
ed under Artic le
African Union and its reque st for Advis ory Opin ion is allow
12
68 (1) of the
4(1). ... that the Comm ittee' s reque st is in accor dance with Rule
blic of Senegal,
Rules as it relates to an issue that is purel y legal" . For lhe Repu
of the Child is
'The Afric an Comm ittee of Experts on the Right s and Welfare
n the Cour t's
indeed founded in seizin g the African Cowt on any matte r withi
Welfa re of the
jurisd iction ; The Afric an Comm ittee of Expe rts on the Rights and
comp ly with tbe
Child is an inter- gover nmen tal organization; The CoUti shoul d
col settin g up
powe rs of interpretation conferred on it under Artic le 3 of the Proto
Afric an Court
the AfJ-ican Couri on Huma n and Peopl es' Rights; Refer rals to the
the Rights and
on Huma n and Peopl es by lhe A Crican Comm ittee on Expe rts on
objectives of the
Welfare of tbe Child are indee d consi stent with the aims and
Proto col.'
referred to,
30. For the Repu blic of Gabo n, 'After considering all the provisions
governing
in support of the request made by the Committee, the general principles
ofhuman
contentious, jurisdictional and quasi jurisdictional proce dure in the field
iction of the
rights, notably, the relevant Aji-ican instruments in this area. the jurisd
nittee is on
Court and /hut the Committee, the Ministry is of the view that the C'omr
such as the
the one hand, entitled to request for an advis01y opinion from AJCHPR,
other hand,
one currently under consideration',· and /hat, 'the Committee is, on the
of the Child.'
entitled to seek redress for any alleged cases of violation of the rights
to all the
The AfTican Comm ission submitted a comp rehen sive response
the view that the
issues raised in the reque st for an Advis ory Opini on. It expre ssed
n the mean ing of
Comm ittee could be consi dered as an Afric an Organ izatio n withi
re, the African
Artic le 4(1) of the Proto col but not as an organ. Furth ermo
dered as an
Comm ission assert ed that 'the Comm ittee shoul d not be consi
ofthe proto col'.
interg overn menta l organ izatjo n withi n the mean ing of Artic le 5(1)
appre ciatio n of
Neve rthele ss, the Afric an Comm ission left all these issues to the
the Court.
31.
32.
As far as
it is conce rned, the Afric an Comm ission concl uded by assert ing
Opinion as an "Afri can
Lhal the Comm ittee was entitl ed to reque st for an Advis ory
'
2
No 02927/MJ/DDH/MMS, at page 2.
9