powers
to
mandate
African
overrule
the
of ensuring
Charter
decisions
compliance
in
its
notes
that
specified
areas
which
paragraph
29
above,
the
and
and
Complainant
it
wants
that
courts
by a State Party,
interpretation
Commission
the
of national
the
some
but simply
with
application
in
its
these
provisions
of
the
areas
to
do
The
submissions
consider,
not
its
of the
law" .6
admissibility
Commission
of
the
discharges
fall
set
out
within
in
the
jurisdiction of the Commission and would indeed amount to an appeal of the
decision of the national Courts. However, to the extent that the alleged violations
relate to rights protected under the African Charter, namely, those that relate to
the right to a fair trial, equality before the law and non-discrimination, they do
fall within the rationne maieriae jurisdiction of
48. Further, the Respondent State is a State Party to the African Charter, accordingly
the
Communication
falls
within
rationae
the
personae
jurisdiction
of
the
Commission. The Commission has rationae temporis jurisdiction, since the alleged
violations took place after the ratification of the Charter by the Respondent State
in 1992. The Commission finds that the Communication satisfies Article 56(2) of
the African Charter.
49. Article
56(3)
of
the
African
Harter
considered if they are not written
in
provides
that
Communications
shall
be
disparaging or insulting language directed
at the State concerned and its institutions or to the Organization of African Unity
[now African
Union].
The
Respondent State
had
not
raised
any
challenge
in
relation to this requirement. The <Commission has, in reading the Complaint, not
come
across
anything
:wfiidi
would
amount
to
disparaging
or
insulting
language. "The Commission therefore finds that the requirements of Article 56(3)
have been met.
50. In
relation
to
Article
56(4)
of
the
African
Charter,
which
requires
that
the
Communication {IIUSt not be based exclusively on news disseminated through
the
mass
media,
the
Respondent
State
has
not
raised
any
challenge.
The
Commission notes that the Complaint is submitted by the Victim himself and is
10