not been subjected to domestic remedies, and thus minimize the importance of
such remedies in referrals to the Court.
19.In my view, this runs counter to the tenets of the obligation to exhaust domestic
remedies and to the rights of States in this regard.
i.
As for the objection regarding reasonable time, application of this concept
by the Court runs counter to the very essence of Article 56 of the Charter,
Article 6(2) of the Protocol and Rules 39 and 40 of the Rules
20. It is apparent from the Judgment under reference in this Separate Opinion’ that
although the Court declared the local remedies as having been exhausted on
14/4/2011, and thus that as at the date of filing of the Application, that is
6/7/2015, four (4) years, two (2) months and twenty-three (23) days had
elapsed, the Court, in its deliberation and decision on the filing of the
Application within reasonable time, held in conclusion that this period remains
reasonable due to the fact that the Application was filed on 6/7/2015, three (3)
months after the Applicants’ application for review was dismissed by judgment
of 20/03/2015.8
21.The Court pointed out, moreover, that the Applicants are lay incarcerated
persons, and did not have the benefit of assistance by counsel, while noting
the fact that they had filed for a review - an extraordinary remedy - and that
they were not to blame for having awaited a decision in this regard.
22. Whereas it is apparent from Article 56 of the Charter and Rule 40 of the Rules
in their respective paragraph 5 that the Application must be filed after the
exhaustion of local remedies, paragraphs 6 of these same Articles confer on
the Court the prerogative to determine whether the time limit for filing the
Application is reasonable after the local remedies have been exhausted or the
date that it would have set as being the commencement of the time limit for its
own referral.
23.In
the present
occurred
case,
after the
the Court,
ordinary
having
remedies
taken
were
into account
exhausted,
the facts which
namely,
the
review
application, to justify the period of four (4) years, two (2) months and three (3)
days, could simply have retained the date of the judgment rendered after the
7 Paragraph 36 of the Judgment
® Paragraph 49 of the Judgment