I. THE PARTIES 1. Mr. Oulai Marius (hereinafter referred to as “the Applicant”) is a national of Côte d’Ivoire serving a sentence of twenty (20) years’ imprisonment and additional penalties, for criminal conspiracy and group robbery with apparent use of weapons. At the time filing the Application, he was being held at the Abidjan Arrest and Correctional Centre (MACA). He alleges the violation of his rights during proceedings before domestic courts. 2. The Application is filed against the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire (hereinafter referred to as “the Respondent State”), which became a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (hereinafter referred to as “the Charter”) on 31 March 1992 and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (hereinafter referred to as “the Protocol”) on 25 January 2004. Furthermore, the Respondent State, on 23 July 2013, deposited the Declaration provided for under Article 34(6) of the Protocol (hereinafter referred to as “the Declaration”), by virtue of which it accepted the jurisdiction of the Court to receive cases from individuals and Non-Governmental Organizations having observer status with the Commission. On 29 April 2020, the Respondent State deposited with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission the instrument of withdrawal of its Declaration. The Court has ruled that the withdrawal of the Declaration has no bearing on pending cases or on new cases brought before it before the withdrawal took effect one (1) year after the filing of the said instrument, in the present case, on 30 April 2021.1 1 Suy Bi Gohoré and Others v. Republic of Côte d’Ivoire (merits and reparations) (15 July 2020) 4 AfCLR 406, § 2. 2