50. It emerges from this provision that there are two alternative options for
determining reasonable time for the Court’s referral. Reasonableness of
time can be determined from the date of exhaustion of local remedies or
alternatively, from the date chosen by the Court as limit for bringing a case
before the Court. Having found, in the present case, that there was no local
remedy to exhaust, the Court must determine the start date for calculating
the time limit for its referral.
51. In the present case, the Applicant seized this Court on 26 July 2021
challenging the adoption and promulgation of the 27 January 2014
Constitution without a referendum. The Court considers that the start date
for calculating the time limit for its referral would therefore be from 27
January 2014. However, it should be noted that at that time, the avenue of
submitting applications to the Court against the Respondent State under
Article 34(6) of the Protocol was not available to individuals and NGOs
having observer status with the Commission. The avenue of bringing an
action before the Court against the Respondent State was only afforded
individuals from the date of filing of the Declaration on 2 June 2017. It is
therefore on this date that the time limit for seizing the Court commences.11
As the Application was filed with the Court on 26 July 2021, a period of four
years, one month and 24 days elapsed between the date on which the
Declaration was deposited and the date on which the case was filed with
the Court. It is, therefore, the reasonableness or otherwise of this duration
that the Court must examine.
52. The Court has consistently held that “the reasonableness of a time limit of
seizure will depend on the particular circumstances of each case and should
11
Fidèle Mulindahabi v. Republic of Rwanda, (jurisdiction and admissibility) (June 26, 2020) 4 AfCLR,
328, §§ 50 and 51; Mohamed Abubakari v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (June 3, 2016) 1
AfCLR 599, § 93; Alex Thomas v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (November 20, 2015) 1 AfCLR
465, § 73. 21 Alex Thomas v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (November 20, 2015) 1 AfCLR 465,
§ 73.
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