Complainant contends that “it is not possible to challenge constitutional
provisions within the Zimbabwean legal system.”
27. Relying on the Commission’s decision in Socio-Economic Rights and
Accountability Project (SERAP) v Nigeria,2 the Complainant argues that a
complainant is only required to have recourse to remedies which are capable of
providing an effective means of redress. The Complainant further argues that
there are no local remedies available to the Victims because the Constitution of
the Respondent State does not provide for the rights sought to be vindicated by
the Victims.
28. The Complainant submits that in a similar situation in the case of Madzango and
Others v The Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs,3 (the
Madzango Case) , the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe had stated that in the absence
of provisions in the Zimbabwean Constitution and the Electoral Act, the right
claimed cannot be granted. Hence, the Complainant argues further that “an
attempt to approach the courts on the legality of the issue in question would
simply be an exercise in futility as the Constitutional provisions on this issue are
very clear”. Accordingly, the Complainant argues that Article 56(5) of the African
Charter is satisfied as there are no effective domestic remedies to be exhausted.
29. On the requirement in Article 56(6) of the African Charter, the Complainant
submits that the Communication ought only to be submitted within a reasonable
period from the time when domestic remedies were exhausted or deemed to have
been exhausted. The Complainant argues that the present Communication
already complies with Article 56(6) of the African Charter since there are no
domestic remedies to exhaust and the Communication was filed as soon as it
became apparent that there would be no arrangements made for Zimbabweans in
the diaspora to participate in the referendum.
30. In relation to Article 56(7) of the African Charter, the Complainant submits that
the Communication satisfies the requirement because the issues in the
Communication have not previously been settled in conformity with the
principles of the African Charter of the United Nations, or the Constitutive Act of
the African Union or the provisions of the African Charter.
The Commission’s Analysis on Admissibility
31. Article 56 of the African Charter sets out seven conditions that a Communication
initiated under Article 55 of the African Charter must satisfy in order to be
Communication 338/07 - Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) v Nigeria (2010) ACHPR
Madzango and Others v The Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs (2005) Supreme Court of
Zimbabwe
2
3
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