contention that its Court of Appeal has ruled that the death penalty is consistent with its Constitution. Furthermore, the Respondent State emphasises that Article 6 of the ICCPR does not abolish the death penalty and, therefore, the imposition of that sentence for serious crimes as murder is lawful. *** 145. The Court notes that the right to life holds an unparalleled status as the most sacred and fundamental of all rights, as it serves as the bedrock of human dignity and the essence of existence.40 Deprived of this right, all other rights lose their significance and feasibility.41 It provides the very foundation upon which individuals can cherish their freedoms, exercise their liberties, and pursue their dreams and aspirations. Recognizing the paramount importance of this right, major international and regional human rights conventions safeguard the sanctity of life by explicitly prohibiting its arbitrary deprivation.42 Article 4 of the Charter similarly intertwines the right to life with the inviolability of human beings, strictly proscribing any arbitrary deprivation of life. 146. In the present Application, the Applicant raises several grounds to support his allegation of the violation of Article 4 of the Charter and its corresponding provision in the ICCPR. The central argument, however, is that the mandatory death penalty leads to an arbitrary deprivation of the right to life, primarily due to its restriction on the trial court’s discretionary power. The Applicant’s specific grounds pertain to the contention that the domestic courts should have imposed an individuated sentence considering their case. 147. In assessing the arbitrariness of the Applicant’s death sentence, the Court relies on its well-established jurisprudence concerning the criteria for such 40 Ally Rajabu and Others v. Tanzania (merits and reparations) (28 November 2019) 3 AfCLR 539, §112. African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v. Kenya (merits) (2017) 2 AfCLR 9, § 152. 42 See Article 6 of the ICCPR, Article 2 of the European Human Rights Convention (1950), Article 4 of the American Convention on Human Rights (1969) and Article 7 of the Arab Charter on Human Rights (2004). 41 37