"1. The Court shall conduct a preliminary examination of its jurisdiction and the
admissibility of the application [. .].
2. ... the Court may request the parties to submit any factual information,
documents or other material considered by the Court to be relevant".
ln calling for "the submission of any information relating to the facts, documents
or other materials which it considers relevant", the Court wishes to inquire into
all aspects of the applicable law, as noted in the heading of Article 7.
12.The other reading is to regard the two Articles as complementary and, where
the conflict so requires, as being necessary for the Court to further develop its
jurisdiction. This was not the case in lhe Mulindahabi decisions, but the Court
has done so on various occasions.
B.
The Court's reading of Articles 3 and 7 in its first wave of decisions
13.The first phase of the Court considered in the interest of the analysis ranges
from the Michelot Yogogombayel judgment (2009) to the Femi Felamas
judgment (2015). This breakdown shows the evolution of the Court and its
judicial involvement on the one hand, and on the other hand, it makes it possible
to periodize its commitments as to the bases of its jurisdiction.
14.The Court has always accepled thatthe provisions of Articles 3 and 7 provide
a firm basis for its jurisdiction to respond to human rights disputes. lt has done
so from its earliest years. lt had perceived the openings left by its.jurisdiction as
formulated in the Protocol. The former Vice-President of the African Court,
Judge Ouguergouz, states in his study that: "Article 3
§ 1 of the Protocol
provides for a very broad substantive jurisdiction of the Court [...]. The liberal
nature of this provision is confirmed by Article 7, entitled "Applicable law"s.
'^t(lllPR. ,llitheltt ,t)g(ryt)nth
.t'a
r lltpuhlit ol Sanagul.l5 l)ccc.rrthcr l(X)9: sec also, Lollc'lman
.jurtspruLlenc'e rt/ thr .1./i'it'un ('ourt (,n llutnLut
(M.). /ii,i'r,lr
.utl l'toplas' llrghls. l'ublished b1 [)cutshcd (icscllschali...(ill.
201(r, p.2.
Ir^lCIIl'R. l:c»ti l:ulanu r'. .lfrrcttn ('onni:s:tion on lhtntm und l'coplt.s'l?ig/rls. Ordcr. l0 Novcrnbcr l0l5.
'' Ou.'qur"-rgoLrz (li.). La ('our aliicainc rlcs droits dc l'honrnrc ct dcs pcuplcs - (iros plan sur lc prcrnicr orranc
judiciairc aliicain à vocation contincntalc, .ltttruuirt fi t.:ntuts tle ln»t intunullr.,rrrrl. volurnc 51. 200(r. pp. 2132J0:
5