ii. Alleged violation of the right to be tried within a reasonable time 54. The Applicants submit that their right to be tried within a reasonable time was violated insofar as the procedure for claiming damages against their former employer was unduly prolonged. They aver that seven (7) years elapsed between the summons of 6 November 2011 before the Court of First Instance of Kita and the second judgment of the Supreme Court. 55. They further point out that more than two (2) years elapsed between the date of the first Supreme Court judgment, on10 December 2014, and the date of the Bamako Court of Appeal ruling, on 31 August 2017. They emphasise that before the Bamako Court of Appeal, the hearing was adjourned for their former employer to produce the trial judgment and for the two parties to file their pleadings at trial and at appeal. The Applicants further submit that despite the fact that the parties produced these various items, the hearing was adjourned several times, such that the case was not disposed of until six (6) months later. 56. Finally, the Applicants aver that at the time of filing the present Application, the proceedings for a stay of execution against the second judgment of the Supreme Court of Mali were still pending. 57. For its part, the Respondent State submits that the Applicants do not prove that domestic courts unduly prolonged the proceedings. 58. It further submits that termination proceedings before its Supreme Court are complex owing to the large number of Applicants and the complex nature of the legal issues in question. *** 14