d) Are not based exclusively on news disseminated through the
mass media;
e) Are sent after exhausting local remedies, if any, unless it is
obvious that this procedure is unduly prolonged;
f)
Are submitted within a reasonable time from the date local
remedies were exhausted or from the date the Commission is
seized with the matter, and;
g) Do not deal with cases which have been settled by those States
involved in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the
United Nations, or the Charter of the Organization of African
Unity or the provisions of the Charter.
28. The Respondent State raises an objection based on non-exhaustion of local
remedies. The Court will rule on this objection (A) before deciding, if necessary,
on the other admissibility requirements (B).
A. Objection based on non-exhaustion of local remedies
29. The Respondent State submits that, although the Applicant has been charged
and arraigned for contempt of court and other offences, his trial has not
commenced. The Respondent State contends that no final decision has been
issued in the matter. The Respondent State therefore submits that the Applicant
did not exhaust local remedies.
30. The Applicant submits that the Respondent State does not in any way indicate
what remedies were available to him. He further submits that although it is true
that cases must be submitted to the Court only after exhaustion of local
remedies, it is nonetheless the case that that the remedies, in line with the
jurisprudence of the Court, must not only be available, that is, they can be
pursued without impediment, but must be effective and satisfactory in the sense
that they are “capable of redressing the complainant or of remedying the
situation in dispute” (African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
decision, Communication No. 147/95-149/96, Application No. 1/95) - Dawda K.
8