24. At the 13th Extraordinary Session, the Commission considered the
Communication and decided to request for the consent of the Respondent
State regarding the procedure for the amicable settlement or, failing that, the
submission of its arguments on admissibility. The Parties were informed
about this decision on 1st and 4th March 2013.
25. At its 53rd Ordinary Session held from 9 to 23 April 2013, the Commission
observed that the Respondent State had not given any effect to all the
aforementioned letters and decided to inform the Complainant about them
and once again requested the Respondent State to submit its arguments on
the admissibility. Letters were transmitted to the parties to that effect. On 3rd
March 2013, the Secretariat set a new deadline of two months for the
Respondent State to transmit its arguments on the admissibility.
26. At the 54th Ordinary Session, the Commission considered the
Communication and decided to defer its decision on admissibility to the next
session. The Parties were duly informed about the Commission’s decision.
The Complainant was requested to provide additional submissions on the
admissibility as the initial Complaint presented conclusions exclusively based
on the condition of exhausting local remedies stipulated in Article 56(5) of the
African Charter. The Complainant transmitted additional arguments the
substance of which did not differ significantly from the arguments contained
in the initial complaint.
27. During the 15th Extraordinary Session held from 7 to 14 March 2014 in Banjul,
The Gambia, the Commission considered the Communication and declared
that it was admissible. The Secretariat informed the Parties to that effect on 17
March 2014, notifying them about the decision and requested the
Complainant to make its submissions on the merits within the allotted
timeframe.
28. The Secretariat received the submissions on the merits from the Complainant
on 28 May 2014, but the attached documents were received on 13 June 2014.
The Secretariat transmitted the aforementioned submissions to the
Respondent State on 16 June 2014 and requested it to forward its arguments
within the prescribed timeline.
29. The Respondent State submitted its arguments on the merits on 14 July 2014.
The Secretariat acknowledged receipt of same and forwarded them to the
Complainant on 4 August 2014. After preliminary review of the submissions
of the Parties with a view to preparing a draft decision on the merits, the
Secretariat sent a new measure of inquiry to the Parties requesting them to
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