38. With respect to the requirement that the Application should be filed within a
reasonable time after exhaustion of local remedies, the Court observes that,
in the present Application, the Court of Appeal rendered its judgment on the
Applicant’s appeal on 18 April 2013.The Applicant later filed an Application
for review of the Court of Appeal’s judgment, which was dismissed on 23
August 2017. The Applicant then filed the present Application on 6 June
2018. Regarding the filing of an Application for review at the Court of Appeal,
this Court has already held that within the Respondent State’s judicial
system, this is an extraordinary remedy which Applicants are not required
to exhaust before filing their Applications before this Court.11
39. In the circumstances, the Court notes that the period to be considered
should be that of nine months and nine days which elapsed between the
date of the Court of Appeal’s decision on the Application for review and the
filing of the present Application.
40. The Court recalls its jurisprudence that: “…the reasonableness of the time
frame for seizure depends on the specific circumstances of the case…”.12
Furthermore, the Court has previously considered relatively short periods of
time as manifestly reasonable.13
41. In the present case, the Court finds the period of nine months and nine days
to be manifestly reasonable. It, therefore, finds that the Application is in line
with the requirements of Rule 50(2)(f) of the Rules.
42. Further, the Application does not concern a case which has already been
settled by the Parties in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the
11
Alex Thomas v. United Republic of Tanzania, op. cit., §§ 63-65; Mohamed Abubakari v. Tanzania
(merits), supra, §§ 66-70; Christopher Jonas v. Tanzania (merits), § 44.
12 Beneficiaries of the late Norbert Zongo, Abdoulaye Nikiema alias Ablasse, Ernest Zongo and Blaise
IIboudo v. Republic of Burkina Faso (merits) (24 June 2014) 1 AfCLR 219, § 92. See also Alex Thomas
v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits) (20 November 2015) 1 AfCLR 465, § 73.
13 Niyonzima Augustine v. United Republic of Tanzania, ACtHPR, Application No 058/2016, Judgment
of 13 June 2023 (merits and reparations), § 58.
10