258 Mizan Law Review Vol. 6 No.2, December 2012 mechanisms overburdens international institutions with cases.106 Article 56(7) of the African Charter serves as a screening mechanism between the African Commission or the African Court and other international institutions. It is submitted that Article 56(7) of the African Charter can serve the purpose of reducing the number of cases that come to the African Commission and the African Court. Both the African Commission and the Court do not have sufficient time and resources to deal with a massive number of cases. The African Commission is a part-time body.107 It carries out its mandate in ordinary and extraordinary sessions.108 The ordinary sessions of the Commission are held at least twice a year and they last for about two weeks unless the African Commission decides to reduce or extend the duration.109 The Chairperson of the African Commission may convene extraordinary sessions when requested by the majority of the commissioners or by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.110 As a part-time body, the African Commission does not have sufficient time to carry out its functions. A perusal of its activity reports reveals that the Commission keeps postponing a large number of communications from one session to another. For example, on its 45th Ordinary Session held from 13 to 27 May 2009, the Commission deferred to the next session 71 out of 80 communications tabled for the Commission, among others, owing to time constraints.111 On its 46th Ordinary Session held from 11 to 25 November 2009, it deferred 62 communications for similar reasons.112 Although the Commission managed to hold the 7th Extraordinary Session from 5 to 12 October 2009 between ordinary sessions, the backlog reduced only by nine communications. supra note 96, p. 88. The admissibility requirement that a communication must have not been settled by another procedure of international investigation or settlement serves as screening mechanisms between international institutions. 106Viljoen (2008), Ibid, p. 88. 107Viljoen (2007), supra note 1, p. 315. 108 Rules of Procedure of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, approved by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights during its 47th ordinary session held in Banjul, The Gambia from May 12 to 26, 2010, Rule 25. 109Ibid, Rule 26. 110Ibid, Rule 27(2). 11126th Activity Report of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) submitted in Accordance With Article 54 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, submitted to African Union Executive Council, Fifteenth Ordinary Session, 24 - 30 June 2009, Sirte, Libya , EX.CL/529(XV), para 141. 112 27th Activity Report of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) submitted in Accordance with Article 54 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, para 209.