shall have an effective remedy, notwithstanding that the violation has been
committed by persons acting in an official capacity”,
“Each individual or organisation shall be free to have recourse to the
common or civil law courts, a court of special jurisdiction, or any other
national institution established within the framework of an international
instrument on Human Rights, to ensure the protection of his/her rights”
“Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national
tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the
constitution or by law”.
123. The Court recalls that the right to an effective remedy has three (3)
components. Firstly, the remedy must be effective. This means that it must
not be formal but must be of a nature to redress violations of fundamental
rights. This implies that the person concerned has effective access to a
court. Secondly, the scope of the provision must relate to laws, conventions,
regulations and customs. Thirdly, the competent body to deal with
allegations of violations of fundamental rights must be a judicial body.
124. Therefore, the Court considers that it is important to know whether the
Respondent State’s legislation allows citizens and judges to assert their
rights in court in the event of human rights violations.
i.
Citizens
125. The Court notes that Article 117 of the 11 December 1990 Constitution of
the Respondent State provides that:
The Constitutional Court shall rule mandatorily on the constitutionality of
laws and regulatory acts allegedly infringing fundamental human rights and
public freedoms in general, in relation to human rights violation.
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