Ki Moon regretting that it had a negative impact and urged Burundi to
take steps to ensure that its legal framework is aligned with democratic
tradition. Other organisations like Human Rights Watch, Transparency
International, Reporters without Borders, and Amnesty International
posted similar criticism of the Press Law.
17. The Applicant also contended that this Court has the jurisdiction by dint
of Articles 23 and 27(1) of the Treaty to enforce the Treaty and determine
whether Articles 6(d) and 7(2) thereof have been violated by the Republic
of Burundi as alleged and that the adoption of the Press Law materially
violates the principles enunciated in these Articles.
18. Further, that no organ of a Partner State has the same primary
jurisdiction as this Court to interprete the Treaty and although a
Constitutional challenge was made by Maison de la Presse du Burundi,
an association under Burundian Law, no decision by the Constitutional
Court of Burundi had been received by the time this Reference was filed.
In any event, that there is no obligation to exhaust local remedies before
approaching this Court on any legitimate matter.
19. On the principles enshrined in Articles 6(d) and 7(2) of the Treaty, the
Applicant has urged the point that they are more than just aspirational
and Partner States have to observe them as a matter of Treaty
obligation. That once a Partner State has given force of law to the Treaty,
then any laws adopted by it should not conflict with it and the Press Law
allegedly fails to meet that expectation.
20. On Freedom of the Press, the Applicant contended that the principles of
democracy,
rule
of
law,
accountability,
transparency
and
good
governance cannot be upheld where there is no free press. That without
a free press, there is no free circulation of information and ideas and the
electorate does not have the opportunity to properly inform itself of
Reference No. 5 of 2013
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