ongoing. The Respondent State argues that the Applicant is serving a lawful
sentence for the commission of an offence as provided by statute.
*
33. The Applicant did not make any submissions on this point.
***
34. In respect of its temporal jurisdiction, the Court notes that the violations
alleged by the Applicant arose after the Respondent State became a Party
to the Charter and the Protocol. Furthermore, the Court observes that the
Applicant remains convicted on the basis of what he considers an unfair
process. Therefore, it holds that the alleged violations can be considered to
be continuing in nature.8
35. For these reasons, the Court finds that it has temporal jurisdiction to
examine this Application and consequently dismisses the Respondent
State’s objection on this point.
C. Other aspects of jurisdiction
36. The Court observes that no objection has been raised with respect to its
personal and territorial jurisdiction. Nonetheless, in line with Rule 49(1) of
the Rules, it must satisfy itself that all aspects of its jurisdiction are fulfilled
before proceeding.
37. In relation to its personal jurisdiction, the Court recalls, as stated in
paragraph 2 of this judgment that, on 21 November 2019, the Respondent
State deposited with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, an
instrument withdrawing its Declaration made under Article 34(6) of the
8
Beneficiaries of late Norbert Zongo, Abdoulaye Nikiema alias Ablasse, Ernest Zongo, Blaise Ilboudo
and Mouvement Burkinabe des Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples v. Burkina Faso (preliminary
objections) (21 June 2013) 1 AfCLR 197, §§ 71-77.
10