001084
65. The Respondent State also contends that, although the Charter and the Rules do
not
define
‘reasonable
time’
to file
an
Application,
international
human
rights
jurisprudence interprets “reasonable time to mean six months from the date of the
final decision which is being challenged”. This is also the position adopted by the
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in the matter of Michael Majuru
v. Zimbabwe.’
66.The Applicant,
for his part, submits
that reasonable time ought to be assessed
against the circumstances of each case. He pleads that in this case, he is still being
held in Bukoba
Central Prison, and that the case of Michael Majuru v. Zimbabwe
cited by the Respondent State is distinguishable from the instant case.
67. The Applicant argues that the Charter has no provision specifying the exact definition
of reasonable time, and that in the absence of such provision, the Commission
the Court
have
been
flexible, treating each
and
case on the basis of its context, the
arguments adduced, the peculiar circumstances and the notion of reasonable time.
The Applicant, for this reason, prays the Court to rely on the foregoing observations
and rule that the Application has been filed within a reasonable time.
HK
68. The Court has held in its previous judgments that the reasonableness of the period
for it to be seized depends on the particular circumstances of each case, and must
accordingly be determined on a case-by-case basis.®
69. In the instant case, the Court notes that the Court of Appeal, the highest Court in the
Respondent State, delivered its judgment on 4 June 2012 and the Applicant seized
this Court on 2 June 2015.
Between
the date the judgment was
rendered by the
7 Communication 308/2005, Michael Majuru v. Zimbabwe.
8 Alex Thomas v Republic of Tanzania (Merits), § 73, Mohamed Abubakari v. of Tanzania (Merits), § 91;
Application No. 011/2015. Judgment of 28/09/2017, Christopher Jonas v. United Republic of Tanzania, §
52; See Norbert Zongo and Others v. Burkina Faso (Preliminary Objections) (2013) 1 AfCLR 197, § 127.
18
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