The Complaint
5. The Complainants allege that the facts presented above are a violation of Articles 1 , 3 , 4 and 7 of the
African Charter and therefore pray the Commission to condemn the Respondent State to:
1. Ensure that the ordinary Criminal Procedure Code is respected;
2. Ensure that the Decree of 6 December 1950 on juvenile delinquency is enforced, particularly the
Article 5 thereof;
3. Put an end to all activities of the Military Court in its current form and institute a two-tier judicial
system to guarantee the right of minors to a fair trial;
4. Urge the Democratic Republic of Congo to pay compensation to the victims of the above-mentioned
violations.
Procedure
6. The Complaint was submitted to the Secretariat of the African Commission on Human and Peoples
Rights (the Commission) on 19 September 2002.
7 . On 2 December 2002, the Secretariat of the Commission acknowledged receipt of the Communication
and informed the Complainants that their Complaint would be submitted to the Commission for seizure at
the 32 nd Ordinary Session scheduled to be held in October 2002 in Banjul, The Gambia.
8. At the 32 nd Ordinary Session, the Commission considered the Communication and decided to be seized
of it. Per Note Verbale of 2 December 2002, the Secretariat notified the Respondent State by forwarding a
copy of the Complaint to it and requested for its arguments on admissibility within three (3) months. The
Complainants were also informed about this decision by letter dated 3 December 2002.
9. At the 33 rd Ordinary Session held from 15 to 19 May 2003 in Niamey, Niger, as there was no response
from the Respondent State, the Commission decided to defer the consideration of the Communication to its
34 th Ordinary Session.
10. On 26 June 2003, the Secretariat sent a Note Verbale by DHL to the Respondent State informing it
about the decision taken at the 33 rd Ordinary Session of the Commission. By the same Note Verbale, the
Secretariat transmitted a copy of the Complaint to the State by reminding it to submit its arguments on
admissibility of the Communication. On the same day, the Complainants were informed of the decision of
the Commission. On 23 September 2003, a new Note Verbale was sent as a reminder to the Respondent
State.
11. At the 34 th Ordinary Session held from 6 to 20 November 2003 in Banjul, The Gambia, the
Commission examined the Communication. Based on the fact that the Respondent State had still not
reacted to the series of correspondence sent to it, requesting for its arguments on admissibility, the
Commission decided to postpone the Communication to its 35 th Ordinary Session for a decision on
admissibility. Furthermore, a copy of the Communication was delivered to the delegation which represented
the Respondent State at the 34 th Ordinary Session of the Commission
12. By electronic mail dated 29 October 2003, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of
Congo informed the Secretariat that he had not received all the previous correspondence transmitted to
him. The Secretariat therefore reacted to that request the same day. Additionally, a copy of the
Communication was delivered by the Commissions delegation on a mission to the Democratic Republic of
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