(,c••r, ACH PR
••
,.
c:n :a:ni" .•
African Commission on
Human and Peoples' nights
Human Rights our
Collective Responsibility
14. The Complaint was seized on 9 August 2022 as it fulfilled all the requirements of
Rule 115( 1) of the Rules of Procedure of the African Commission on Human and
Peoples' Rights (ROP 2020), and the Secretariat also requested submissions on
admissibility and merits from the Complainants.
15. On 1 November 2022 , the Complainants wrote a letter to the Secretariat requesting
an extension of time to file submissions on admissibility and merits by 13
December 2022 in terms of Rule 98 of ROP 2020.
16. By way of a letter dated 17 November 2022 , the Secretariat granted the
Complainants an extension of time to file its submissions on admissibility.
17. On 13 December 2022, the Complainants wrote a letter to the Secretariat,
requesting the latter to suspend the Complaint as they had not exhausted local
remedies and an opportunity to do so had arisen in the Constitutional Court of
South Africa .
18. Regrettably, there has not been any communication or feedback from the
Complainants since their last communication two years and seven months ago.
Analysis of the African Commission on Strike Out
19. Rule 124(2) of ROP 2020 provides that where a Complainant fails to pursue their
Communication or show proper due diligence in prosecuting it, the Commission
may at any stage of the proceedings decide to strike it out.
20. Additionally, Rule 98 states that either party may apply to the Commission for an
extension of the period stipulated for a particular submission, prior to its expiry.
21 . In the present Communication, the Commission notes that after the Complaint was
seized , the Complainants were invited to present their Arguments and Evidence on
the Admissibility and Merits of the Communication within sixty (60) days of receipt
of the notification.
22 . The Commission further notes that the Complainants did not present their
Arguments and Evidence on Admissibility and Merits within the sixty (60) days'
notice. The Commission also notes that the Complainants requested an extension
of time , which was granted.
23. However, the Complainants wrote another letter on 13 December 2
extension of time they had been granted in terms of Rule 98 of the
..
:x: .
J)
ET Of-$
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents