VI. JURISDICTION 22. The Court recalls that Article 3 of the Protocol provides as follows: 1. The jurisdiction of the Court shall extend to all cases and disputes submitted to it concerning the interpretation and application of the Charter, this Protocol and any other relevant Human Rights instrument ratified by the States concerned. 2. In the event of a dispute as to whether the Court has jurisdiction, the Court shall decide. 23. The Court further notes that in terms of Rule 49(1) of the Rules, “[t]he Court shall conduct preliminary examination of its jurisdiction … in accordance with the Charter, the Protocol and these Rules.”3 24. Based on the above-cited provisions, the Court must conduct a preliminary examination of its jurisdiction and dispose of objections thereto, if any. 25. The Court observes that no objection has been raised with respect to its material, personal, temporal and territorial jurisdiction. However, in line with Rule 49(1) of the Rules, it must satisfy itself that conditions relating to all aspects of its jurisdiction are met before proceeding. 26. Given that nothing on the record indicates that it does not have jurisdiction, the Court, therefore, concludes that it has: i. Material jurisdiction, since the Applicant alleges violations of rights protected by the Charter, the ACDEG, which this Court has held is a human rights instrument,4 and the ICCPR, instruments to which the Respondent State is a party.5 3 Formerly, Rule 39(1) of Rules of Court, 2 June 2010. Actions pour la Protection des Droits de l’Homme v. Republic of Côte d’Ivoire (merits) (18 November 2016) 1 AfCLR 668, § 65. 5 Malawi ratified the ICCPR and ICESCR on 22nd December 1993, ratified and deposited its declaration on the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) on 11 October 2012 and 24 October 2012 respectively. 4 7