143. The Commission wishes to note that even for purposes of Article 56 of the
Charter, there cannot be adopted a single standard of proof that can be applied
uniformly regardless of the admissibility condition and the circumstances of the case
at hand. So for example, compatibility ratione materiae is made out by raising a prima
facie case which only requires preliminary evidence indicative of a violation. A prima
facie case is sufficient for admissibility purposes because the alleged violations
would be substantively revisited with more rigour at the merit stage. The standard
of proof for making out a prima facie case is accordingly lower than that which
applies at the merit stage in assessing whether a violation actually occurred.
144. By contrast compatibility ratione temporis for example must be made out
conclusively at admissibility stage as the very possibility of a case on the merits
necessarily depends on whether the Respondent State had undertaken the necessary
obligations when the alleged violations occurred. Whether a particular violation
occurred after the critical date is an issue that goes to admissibility and not the
merits of the alleged violations.
145. Similarly compatibility ratione personae with regard the Respondent State
being a Party to the Charter must also be made out conclusively at the admissibility
stage as this point too cannot be subject of reconsideration at the merit stage.
146. For the same reasons, the Commission holds the view that compatibility
ratione loci must also be conclusively substantiated at the admissibility stage since at
the latter stage, this would no longer be under consideration, unlike whether the
state through its agents actually perpetrated or facilitated the alleged violations. In a
case like the present where the very presence of the Complainant in the territorial
jurisdiction of the Respondent State is squarely denied, it becomes particularly
important to establish the location of the violation.
147. Clearly the standard of proof for matters which have to be conclusively
established at admissibility stage cannot be the same as the standard of proof for
matters on which only a preliminary finding suffices as such matters would be
revisited later at the merit stage.
148. In the present Communication, to establish that he was deported to Djibouti
and detained at a secret site there and therefore to establish that he was under the
territorial jurisdiction or effective control of the Respondent State, the Complainant
relies on a set of circumstantial evidence, including a record of habeas corpus
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