33. The Applicant prays that the objection be dismissed. She maintains that her
application complies with Article 56(5) of the Charter. She alleges that, apart
from the Constitutional Council established in the 1990s, no domestic court
has jurisdiction to hear the issues raised therein. She also avers that since
the interim President came to power, he has “stiffled” the judiciary and, first,
by means of the decree-law of 23 March 2011 and the law of 16 December
2011 on the provisional organisation of public authorities, “dismantled” the
main institutions of the State, namely the legislature, comprising the
Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Councils (legislative body), the
Economic and Social Council and the Constitutional Council. In her view,
the Constitutional Court provided for by the law of 2014 is the domestic
judicial body that should hear the violations alleged in her application.
34. The Applicant alleges that there was no remedy available to her and
requests the Court to dismiss the Respondent State’s objection and declare
her application admissible.
***
35. The Court recalls that, pursuant to Article 56(5) of the Charter, which in
substance restates the provisions of Rule 50(2)(e) of the Rules of Court,
applications filed with it must satisfy the requirement of exhaustion of local
remedies.5 The Court also emphasises that the local remedies to be
exhausted are those of a judicial nature, which must be available, in the
sense that they can be exercised without hindrance by the Applicant, and
must be effective and satisfactory, in the sense that the remedy must be
capable of settling the dispute.6 In line with the Court’s constant jurisdiction,
this requirement is waived only if it is shown that such remedies are
unavailable, ineffective or inadequate, or if the proceedings thereof are
unduly prolonged.7
5Kambole
v. Tanzania, supra, § 36; Gihana and Others v. Rwanda, supra, §§ 65 and 66.
Lohé Issa Konaté v. Burkina Faso (merits) (5 December 2014), 1 AfCLR 314, §108; Sébastien Germain
Marie Ajavon v. Republic of Benin, (merits and reparations) (2 December 2021) 5 AfCLR 94, §73.
7 Kijiji Isiaga v. Tanzania (merits) (21 March 2018), 2 AfCLR 218, § 44; African Commission on Human
and Peoples’ Rights v. Republic of Kenya (merits) (26 May 2017), 2 AfCLR 9, §§ 93-94.
6
10